I'll Stand By You
by Scooterly
Summary: No one understands Cassandra's headachs or her lack of visions, no one understands what could be in store for her if she doesn't figure out whats wrong. Herc may have defeated Hades, but it seems the Lord of the Underworld is the least of their worries...
1. Chapter 1

Part One

Cassandra meandered down to the stable where Pegasus was kept, gently rubbing her temples. As the noise of Hercules's victory party behind her faded and she melded into the soft, welcoming darkness, she sighed heavily and slid down a side wall, thankful for some peacefulness. Now she only hoped no one came looking for her which, if Hercules or Icarus found that she had mysteriously disappeared, no doubt they would. But Herc was preoccupied with Meg and though she had no idea where Icarus was, there was no doubt in her mind that might have deceived him at last. She was alone. Finally alone.

The headaches had started sometime after Herc started finally going into heroic missions and seemed to intensify after he had met Megara. Cassandra could hardly say why it irked her so bad, but she hardly had any visions at all since. She often thought to relate the headaches and lack of visions together but after talking with other seers, she threw out the idea. Yet still . . . something had to have a common connection, didn't it? But it didn't matter now. She had never told anyone outside of her seer circle; the last thing she needed was to worry Herc or Icarus. Nothing was wrong; she was just going through . . . something. She rubbed her head a bit more vigorously.

"I thought I saw someone come in here,"

Cass jerked her head up, wincing as she did so, met by the blinding outside light as someone stood in the open doorway of the stable. Through much adjusting, Cassandra finally recognized the form and voice as Meg's. She put on a casual smile and stood; she had liked the fiery, stubborn woman from the start. Meg came closer to her.

"Are you always this reclusive?" Meg asked with a sideways grin.

Cass gave a short laugh. "Only with Icarus around,"

"Yeah, he's a, uh . . . strange one . . . lucky you," she grinned and began to study the decorative engraving on the side of the wall. "So what brings you to the lovely world of Pegasus's stable?"

Cassandra looked away as Meg raised an eyebrow at her and shrugged nonchalantly. "Just a bit of a headache. I was looking for someplace dark and quiet, nothing I can't take."

Meg cast her a strange look but disregarded the idea that something else could be wrong. She knew from the way Hercules talked that Cassandra wasn't one to dawdle on herself . . . Maybe she just wanted a break from Icarus. Even after school had ended, it seemed he had remained her loyal, faithful, waiting pet and even though it annoyed her, for some reason Cass had never cast him away. Or she did, he came bouncing back anyway . . .

"So is . . . is Herc letting you stay with him then? It's only been a day after he defeated Hades, but,"

"Yeah," smirked Meg shortly, turning to look back at Cass. "He's going to ask me to marry him to, like giving him up god-hood to stay on earth with me wasn't enough of a proposal, but . . . well, you know Herc . . . the big lug."

Cassandra almost smiled at the lightness in Meg's voice. "And when did you get the "gift" of prophecy bestowed upon you?"

Meg laughed. "The same time I got the gift of overhearing conversations – He's talking to Icarus,"

"Interesting choice," muttered Cassandra with a grin and then she winced sharply, pain springing through her head and down her neck.

Meg watched her curiously, coming towards her hesitantly. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Cassandra clutched her head tightly for a moment and looked to be holding her breath. Meg cautiously touched her shoulder, not sure as to how Cass would react. When the suffering woman finally relaxed, Meg found that she was holding her own breath.

"Yeah . . ." Cassandra murmured after a moment, swaying slightly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Really,"

Meg drew away but kept her eyes on Cass. "I can get Herc,"

"No, it's fine. See? I'm feeling fine," she walked past Meg swiftly. "C'mon let's head back,"

Megara hung back a little, watching Cass as though she expected her to pass out. But she was nearly to the front door. With a sigh, Meg closed the empty stable and began her own trek back to the house, her mind a mass of excitement and worry. Needlessly dusting off her dress, she slowed her walk a little and looked around, realizing how strange it was how everything had worked out in the past few weeks. But it was the fact of what she had learned from being in service to Hades that sent a chill down her spine. As she stared up at the bright blue sky, she resorted a little back to the person she once was; in her entire service time to Hades, she had learned a great deal of things, one of which was being able to tell when someone was hiding something. As she looked back at Cassandra, she sighed.

She was definitely hiding something and Meg was determined to find out.

Upon coming back to the house, Meg almost walked into a very stiff backed Cassandra. Judging by the sudden quietness coming through the open door, her mind immediately jumped to the worst possible event and she leaned around Cassandra's bare shoulders, looking into her face. After find only wide eyes and raised eyebrows, she followed the line of sight and paused abruptly at the sight of a kneeling Hercules on the floor, face slightly paled, stuttering clumsily as his trembling hands held a small ring.

Icarus began hysterical laughter beside him.

The tense mood in the room instantly calmed down and Cassandra shook her head, her facial expression mellowing back to its normal, "unenthused" state. She managed a smirk however and gave him a thumbs up.

"Nice speech Herc," she said as she walked back behind Meg and nudged her ahead. "Wanna try it on Meg this time?"

Meg began to laugh, attempting to muffle it with her hand as she saw the look on Herc's face. Her eyes filled with sympathy as he struggled to regain himself and her smiled widened all the while, finding him all the more sweeter. Gods, it felt so good to love again . . .

"Meg, I . . . er. . . Megara, I . . . I . . ." whatever else he had said was mixed and mashed up and Meg was unable to hold back her laughter much longer. He smiled nervously up at her. "I . . . I guess I can't . . . say it . . . again . . ."

Meg ceased laughing and bent down to him, her eyes filled with adoration as she gently touched his cheek, though her voice seemed to loose the heavy sarcasm it may have once carried. "Are you always this articulate?"

He stumbled over his words as he chuckled nervously, quite familiar with this saying.

"So . . . I . . . uh . . . wanted t-to ask you . . ."he sighed and hung his head, and then smiled sheepishly up at Meg. "Meg, I love you . . . will you marry me?"

"Yes!" she said breathlessly, surprised at the sudden excitement that coursed through her, even though she knew what was coming. "Yes, of course!"

He finally began to chuckle and relax a little, swallowing hard as he lightly took her hand in his and placed the ring on her finger. She admired it for a moment, astounded at how lucky she had been before she lunged forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him firmly on the lips. Cheers and clapping rose up around them and in the next moment, both were smothered with a tight, choking hug.

"Oh I'm so HAPPY!" came Icarus's squeaking voice in Meg's ear. "It seems like just yesterday Herc was stumbling over his feet to talk to that-!"

"AL-right Icarus, I think you're done now," Hercules's finally struggled free and offered an apologetic smile to Meg as he picked his friend up and placed him down near Cassandra, who sneered down at him.

Helping Meg to her feet, the couple stood together with broad grins, receiving the many congratulations and good wishes from everyone around them. Cassandra watched them calmly, a small smile tucked up in the corner of her mouth. Hercules had never really changed, she realized. Still the sweet, kind, lug he had always been . . . lucky him.

With everyone newly distracted, she retreated to a back room, the sharp pain slowly starting to return to the back of her skull. She sunk down into a dark corner and buried her head in her arms, just wishing for the pain to go away . . .

"Oh, CasSANdra!"

She groaned and raised her eyes up halfway. "Whatever it is, no, Icarus,"

He stood there with the same dorky smile plastered on his face. "Why is my beloved Cassie-rose hiding away back here?"

"Because she doesn't feel good," she responded in a monotone voice. "Now go away before I commit homicide or suicide."

He came forward anyway, adding the new threat to a mental list of all the ones she had ever used against him. He placed his hands on her arms, causing her to look up at him again. "Come on, what's wrong, my sweet Cassandra?"

"Icarus, I swear I'll-!" she suddenly drew back from him, her head filling with blinding pain. "Just go away, alright?"

"Ah! Cassie has a headache!" Icarus concluded, leaping behind her. "Do not fear my sweet! Such a problem can be overcome with some quick, helpful knowledge of massaging!"

"Since when do you know-!"

"Quiet now, my sweet Cassandra! Icky has everything under control!" he placed his fingers on her head, skillfully avoiding her sharp, jabbing elbows.

"Icarus I swear . . . if you don't move . . . your . . . hands . . ." her face suddenly fell into relaxation, her eye lids gently drooped and she almost reluctantly gave up the struggle. "Wow,"

Icarus smiled widely. "See? Feels better already, doesn't it?"

She didn't want to admit it. Every ounce of her will fought against it. But the pain was dulling and for once, she was given the relief she had for so long sought. Her head drooped slightly and she heaved a heavy exhale that answered Icarus for her. After one, worrying thought that someone might walk in (namely Hercules), she gave into her long sought break in the pain and let her thoughts scatter. But still it irked her; this wasn't like her. She didn't just give in, especially to Icarus. But her head had never felt like this before, at times she was determined that it would quite literally explode.

Icarus's massage made everything seem better and she didn't realize how tense she had been until her body completely relaxed. For a moment, she asked him where he had learned this rather different skill of his but upon receiving no answer, she assumed that it had just been a passing thought. Nothing was working right now and her senses seemed to be beyond function.

Hercules finally proposed, she remembered thinking to herself. I should say something to him and Meg . . .

And so was her last thought lost as she drifted into the first easy sleep she had had in a long while.


	2. Chapter 2

Part Two

Meg stood in front of the large window, trying to wake up. She heard movement behind her but didn't bother turning, knowing already who it would be. She grinned as she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist and she pressed her head against Hercules's as he came down level with her. Turning in his arms, she beamed up at him, loosing herself again in his rich blue eyes. A boyish smile crossed his face and she giggled, snuggling into his chest. His arms tightened around her.

"I can't believe this is all true," Meg murmured softly.

Hercules chuckled gently. "But it is . . . and it's perfect,"

He kissed her cheek and sighed into her hair, living in the moment as much as could, unwilling to let go. However, the moment was quickly ruined by the loud rumbling of two obviously hungry stomachs. Both laughed and drew apart.

"I should feed Pegasus anyway," Herc muttered, slipping on his sandals. "And maybe we can get a good breakfast to ourselves in before Phil comes to find me . . ."

"What, he doesn't think defeating Hades should give you a few days off? C'mon, a little hooky wont hurt . . ."

He laughed. "The last time I played hooky I got the work out of my life . . ."

She smirked. "Yeah, I suppose I'm a bad influence on you, aren't I?"

"I don't know about [ithat[/i . . ." Herc smiled mischievously and then rushed at her, sweeping her up off her feet and into his arms. She clung to his neck with a cry of surprise, laughing as he rushed down the hallway with her and down into the main room where he turned in circles with her.

He suddenly lurched to a halt though as a loud, broken snore met his ears and Meg clutched tighter to his neck.

"What was-?" she began but paused as she looked over to the corner of the room.

Letting Meg down, his face went through a series of emotions and his voice spoke with an unbelieving tone. "Icarus? _Cassandra?_"

Both where obviously dead asleep. Cassandra seemed to have gone down to her side during the night, her face calm and peaceful. Beside her lay Icarus, curled up in a tight fetal like position against her, one hand resting on her head, the other droop over her shoulder. Hercules let out a choking gasp, suddenly not sure what to say.

"My first question would be; who drugged her?" Meg commented after a moment.

"More like; what did they drug her _with?_ Nothing would – ever – get Cassandra that close to Icarus . . ." Hercules paused, an uncertain smile quickly appearing and disappearing. "I guess that would explain why we didn't see them leave last night . . . they didn't . . ."

The silence was filled by Icarus's loud snores and Cassandra's, quiet, even breathing. Hercules really had no idea how to react to the moment and in reality, felt as though the world had shifted off its axis and gone retrograde . . . things like this just didn't happen . . .

"You're not going to wake them up are you?" said Meg with a smile, seeing the look on Herc's face. "Personally, I think we should get Greece's fastest painter and capture this moment,"

Hercules laughed. "And see how fast Cassandra kills us? If you want to,"

"Ah fine, leave them there then," she turned to leave, grabbing his hand. "Maybe the smell of breakfast will wake them up . . ."

"I'm not so sure I want to be here when Cass wakes up," Hercules responded as he stumbled after her.

"Oh please, what's the worst she could do? Rearrange the cosmos?" Meg felt a familiar chill, realizing where she had picked up the comment but did not express it.

"Or something close to it,"

Cassandra's first thought, in the early, groggy stages of wakefulness, was not "where am I?" but rather, "Where is my pillow?" She shifted slightly, unwilling to open her eyes just yet. Her arms, slightly cold, were bent into her chest. But her back was warm . . . very warm . . . and there was something on her head . . . her mind started spinning, realizing something else was going on here. It wasn't until a loud snore rang in her ear that she opened her eyes, startled at first as she tried to figure out where she was.

Hard floor, white walls, warm side . . .

Something twitched on her head and she was on her feet faster than she had ever been before, catching sight of Icarus a moment later and cringing.

Oh gods she _hadn't_ . . .

Instantly, her memories from last night flooded back to her and she groaned inwardly . . . she _had _. . .

Had the headache really been that bad? Did she really need . . . Icarus . . . to give her relief? Comfort? Her thoughts were suddenly torn away then, hearing the sound of two laughing people in the kitchen. Her stomach dropped and in vain, she prayed that she might be struck down by lightening now.

How high were the chances that Herc and Meg had not seen her and Icarus? She guessed not high . . .

She sighed, agitated, not sure what to do. How could just walk out into the kitchen, pretend nothing was wrong? Well, nothing was wrong, other than her best friend would now have heavy blackmail against her . . . She lurched to the side a little as Icarus stirred and she gritted her teeth. She'd just have to take it in stride. Maybe she could at least leave before Icarus woke up- she had to get to work anyway. Maybe she wouldn't even have to have to much of a conversation with Hercules . . .

No, she couldn't do that; she was the one that Icarus had come with. But then, it was his own choice, she had "consented" with a no. It would be his fault if he got stuck here or had to walk home. She turned quickly on her heal, setting a determined, firm jaw as she strode passively into the kitchen.

Any and all conversation stopped, and then-

"Got a little cozy last night, didn't we?" Meg greeted, with a teasing smile.

Cass blinked at her. "I need to bathe in acid. So, if you would excuse me-"

"You're not going to wait for Icarus?" Cass looked over at Hercules. He didn't seem to be teasing her, in fact his eyes seemed cautious.

She put on her best cheesy smile. "No, the little louse can find his own way home. He's a big boy now. Congratulations by the way- see you two later . . ."

She suddenly the breath knocked out of her lungs and she stopped short.

"Oh CasSANdra!"

"Icarus get off!" she yanked his hands from around her middle and he trotted up in front of her.

"Wasn't last night so WARM cuddled up together?"

She pushed past him. "Like I said, I'm going to go bathe in acid."

He followed after, unperturbed. "Great! I'll wash your hair for you!"

"_Icarus!_"

The door shut with a snap, leaving Herc and Meg shaking their heads behind them.

"In all your years with them, ever figure out what holds them together?" Meg asked with a sideways glance.

Hercules shrugged and chuckled lightly. "My best guess is the wax from Icarus's wings . . . and perhaps a bit of . . . normalcy . . ."

Meg raised an eyebrow.

"Well . . ." Hercules ended the unfinished statement and went back to mixing eggs.

Outside, Cassandra had started down the road already, guiding the horse with a steady hand. Icarus had jumped on board half a mile back and yet to cease talking. She sighed and discovered she had yet to cease ignoring. Upon entering town, however, her hand was slowly but surely reaching for his neck.

And another headache was coming on. Again.

"Oh look my dearest Cassie-rose! One of your seer friends!" he suddenly lurched to one side, hanging over the edge of the chariot. "Hi!"

Cassandra looked over her shoulder after settling a suddenly spooked horse. "Icarus will you stop-! Lysandra?"

Cassandra quickly turned them around, going towards a tall woman standing on the corner. It wasn't often that one saw _her_ standing out on the corner . . .

Lysandra was one of the older seers, also cursed with the gift of empathy, which was why she often stayed out of public places and avoided people as much as possible. Her and Cassandra had become fast friends. But Cassandra now had a wary feeling, seeing the tall dark haired and tanned skin woman standing so calmly on the corner. Lysandra's head slowly turned as Cassandra came towards her and a chill went down her spied as the woman's rich black eyes met hers. There was a reason she was standing out here.

As Cassandra pulled to a stop on the side of the street, she slowly stepped out, aware of her close, crazy eyed shadow at her heel. Lysandra came towards her with a smile, a smile on a face that was usually impassive. That would mean she was trying to make everything seem alright . . .

"Cassandra," the older woman's voice was rugged but calm and she tightly gripped Cass's shoulder. "I've been waiting for you,"

"Why?" Cassandra said slowly, not sure that she liked the fact that she had been waiting for her.

Lysandra's smile softened into a thin lipped line and she raised suspicious eyes to Cass. "How have your headaches been lately, Cassandra?"

"Nothing I can't hand-,"

"She had one last night!" Icarus offered brightly. Cassandra glowered at him.

"Did you?"

Cass nodded reluctantly. "I tried what you said; I got away from light and noise . . . nothing helped. I don't think these are – normal – headaches,"

"I got rid of it for her!" Icarus proudly boasted, and then he sidled up closer to Cass, slanting his eyes. "Didn't I, my sweet?"

"Ugh," she turned away, shoving him back forcefully.

"And have you gone to anyone about them?" Asked Lysandra, laughing a little at Icarus's unsuccessful attempt to fight his way back to Cassandra's side as she held him at bay with one hand.

"I've been all the seers in the circle . . . no one thinks the lack of visions are related,"

"I don't mean other seers Cassandra," she sighed heavily. "I mean a doctor,"

"No," responded Cass flatly, crossing her arms while Icarus went flying past her with the built up momentum.

Lysandra suddenly looked uneasy and hesitant. Cassandra urged her on quietly, still not sure she wanted know what she was going to be told. Lysandra motioned her closer, signaling that she wanted only Cassandra to hear.

"Icarus," Cass said firmly. "Go watch the chariot, I left some important things in there,"

"Right-o, my sweet!" he rushed past her again, eager to please though stumbling a little after his collision with the wall. Cassandra leaned into to hear Lysandra's quiet voice.

"I had a vision," the elder began.

Cassandra leaned in closer as the older woman hesitated. Whenever Lysandra had a vision, it usually occurred some few days off but was usually important. People, normal, "ungifted" people, even had a right mind to believe her, something Cassandra never seemed to be able to accomplish. Cass almost wanted to turn away though, the look in Lysandra's eyes so intense and dark that Cass even felt a hint of fear. She held her breath and Lysandra in-haled deeply.

"Cassandra," she paused, gripping her shoulder as she often did to her customers, as though to pass emotion onto them. "My dear, I have no easy way to tell you this . . . gods, Cassandra, I saw you dead!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Part Three**

He stood smiling, pleased at how things were turning out with his mortal pawns below. They were so manipulative, so easy to persuade, so easily . . . moved. If only he had been in Hades's place or working _with_ him . . . his plan may have worked instead of being thwarted by the son of Zeus. But now, perhaps, he could regain his good standing point with the fiery god once again. His smile faded as he remembered how he had been so forcefully put in this worthless place . . . limbo, some called it.

It was a place where sane men went mad. Everything was white and he was stranded on a rocky, snow topped cliff with no way of getting down. However, the air was unnaturally mild. And still, his only view to the mortal world was the pool of water on the far eastern side of the cliff, where the viewer could see and hear the life going on in the mortal realm. It was a tool that ensured some bit of sanity for him, the only tool he had. And after spending years figuring out how to work it, he also discovered he could influence mortal actions _just_ enough to perform the way he wanted them to. It wasn't total control, but it was enough.

The seers from that realm were his most prized targets though. Through them, he had his most fun but also ran into most of his complications. They were also the hardest to place thoughts into.

What a joy it had been when he found out that one of Hercules's close friends was a seer!

For so long, he had been tortured with the sight of seeing souls pass peacefully on their way to Tartarus. On a rare occasion, a soul did get trapped, and then he had company. But, he was always so disappointed when they finally got to go on and even more aggravated if they got to return to their healed bodies. He had been stuck here for so long, he wondered if perhaps, Hades had forgotten him. He wouldn't doubt it; after all, he wasn't a threat anymore. Hades had made sure that he didn't have a body to return to on top of denying him any entry into the afterlife. His reasoning?

Though he had once been mortal, he was no longer part of a mortal's way of life. In a way, he had become Hades's own creation and the god feared he would find a way out again, which couldn't be risked. He had been there when the gods were all young and he had no way of knowing how old they were now . . . he had long since lost all track of time, as well as his name and the event that had occurred that had made Hades banish him here. He remembered how angry the god had been, he remembered his wrath as he sent him to this horrid, empty, wasteland, but he could not remember why.

But none of that mattered now. His many years of waiting had not been in vain; he would gain back whatever he had lost with Hades. His opening had come when he had observed what Hades had tried to do with Hercules and a plan had been forming since the beginning, for he had felt that somehow Hades would fail.

And now, his options were open.

There was something about seers he had learned overtime; something that interested him to the point of obsession. If for some reason one couldn't receive a vision, another would receive it instead. A simple process that none of them knew could happen, simply because it had never happened before, where one of their own had been unable to receive a vision.

He had also discovered a way to intercept a seer's visions, which was part of his many attempts to help Hades, hoping again to be recognized . . .

Of course, it hadn't worked.

Rising from his crouched position, he shook the frost from his thick, dark hair and walked stiffly over to the pool on the other side of the cliff. He knelt down to it, for a moment wondering what he looked like. Out of the many things the pool could do and show, it did not show one's reflection and for the number of years he had been here, one did tend to forget.

Yet, that was not what he was after. Something that had been annoying him for the past year was the lack of a name for himself. Oddly enough, he could not remember the one he had had so many years ago and if he was going to go through and try make his plan for recognition, he needed a name.

The pool swirled gently, giving a surrealistic view of Thebes and its quickly filling streets. Its citizens were just waking, the sun just barely rising . . . or was it just barely setting? He brought his fingers to touch the golden half circle, his fingers tingling with the warmth he should have been feeling. A ripple expressed itself down his spine and his mind worked frantically- the sun was bright, noticeable, needed even. Everything he wanted to be, everything he needed to be to get back to be Hades's right hand again. There was a god for the sun, he knew there was . . .

But what was the name?

He pushed his fingers into the water, the liquid numb against his skin. He concentrated for a moment, picking up the conversation from the busy street. If anyone could just simply comment on the god, it might give him the name he was searching for . . .

_The price for olives now, outrages!_

_Sorry, can't talk now, wife's waiting with dinner_

_Summer must be coming, Apollo seems to be coming earlier and earlier . . ._

He abruptly drew his fingers from the water, the voices of the people draining away from his ears. He repeated the name out loud to himself, his excitement undeniably high. Apollo . . . that was what he would call himself. Yes, he needed a strong, reliable, proud name . . . Apollo. _That_ as it; _that_ was who he would be.

His white grin stretched to the lobes of his ears and again he touched the water, brushing his finger tips against its surface.

"Cassandra," he whispered, picturing her face in his head clearly and vividly.

The pool swirled gently for a moment and then he saw her, his smile fading as he saw a strange, dark look on her face. She waved emotionlessly to a woman behind her and said nothing as her friend grasped her around the waist, which was odd for he had often seen her pry herself loose . . .

He couldn't risk something going wrong.

But he did not want to follow her, not now. His plan was coming together, he would be able to fix things later.

It was strange how he had never thought about seeking revenge on the god that banished him here for all these years and paused with a jerk. He had simply wanted to regain his place with Hades, never mind that the god had once granted him power of his own. He had almost forgotten . . . but those thoughts would have to wait. He placed his fingers on the water again.

Right now, he needed another pawn to play the game.

* * *

Just wanted to say thanks for the reviews and that I changed settings now, so unregistered users can comment if they wish to! 

-Scoots


	4. Chapter 4

Part Four

Cassandra didn't know how to respond. She had never been faced with that before. Sure, she had gone on her own daring adventures, often knowing she was risking her life, but she had never been told by one of the most reliable seers that she was going to die . . . that was just . . . numbing.

She could easily say she wasn't afraid of dying, she never had been. In fact, she had been more afraid of immortality than anything. But still, it didn't mean she wanted to . . . not yet . . .

She had become almost deaf to whatever else Lysandra had told her. The most she could recall was that her body was lying in a golden field. Had she been murdered? Lysandra didn't think so and proceeded to lecture her on her headaches. When Cassandra left, she couldn't remember if she had said goodbye and didn't even remember dropping Icarus off at his place. It wasn't until she had gotten home, sat down for a moment and actually breathed, that she realized what had just happened.

Lysandra's visions came true usually in two to three days. She had just given Cassandra a death sentence. Cass's world suddenly swam around her and she felt so lost . . . so suddenly out of touch . . . as though the entire world was looking down at her, breathing down her neck. She had felt out of place all through school, then she met the group of seers, and now she was back to her school years again.

Quietly cursing, she struggled to get a grip on the situation. If Lysandra told her about the vision, then there had to be some way to change something before it actually occurred. If there was anything she had learned, it was that. Cass stood up abruptly, pacing restlessly. She could handle this; she could take it in stride. She wouldn't tell Hercules, he would worry to the point of insanity _and_ he had a wedding coming up . . . he would be scatter brained enough as it was.

Bleakly, she wondered if she would be able to see it . . .

She shook her head angrily. She had to _focus_ because she wasn't going to die.

She wouldn't tell Icarus either, simply because . . . well, he was clingy enough. She didn't know what he would do if . . . and she also wasn't going to tell Megara. Meg shared things with Herc, and Herc shared things with Icarus. She would keep it to herself and find a way out of it and never again would she ever dawdle on the vision. No one would ever have to know.

Convinced she now had a level head (even if her mind was still running out of control), she settled on the fact that she needed a hot bath. After that, things would be clearer and she would know exactly what to do. She could handle this . . . like Meg said. She was a big tough girl, she tied her own sandals and everything.

_Yeah, I bet you could cover yourself in your own shroud to_, said an inner, cynical voice.

She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.

Hot bath. Lots of candles.

_You're just wasting time, _

No she wasn't. She had time.

Her visions should tell her otherwise.

It was late in the afternoon, the sun was high in the sky and the day increasingly warm. Cassandra had otherwise forbade herself to think about her single morning event that seemed to want to change her life forever, but for someone who was just told they were going to die, that was really hard. She was determined to go through her day normally, talk with Lysandra again and then see if they could come up with a solution. If not . . . well, Cassandra would cross that bridge when she came to it. She sighed miserably, her head pounding with the pressure that had been building for the last few hours. Would these headaches never go away?

There was no doubt that their constant presence was starting to wear her down, making her do things that didn't necessarily apply to her normal nature. It aggravated her daily, so much that the only place she felt "sane" was the meeting place of the seer group, namely with Lysandra, whom had become the stronger female figure in her life. She couldn't even stand herself sometimes.

She jerked with surprise as someone began knocking at her door and quickly tried to repair her shot nerves. With sickly dread, she imagined Icarus standing there, probably wanting to ask her to some sort of city gathering . . . thing. She shuddered at the mere thought and went towards the door, wondering if she should open it at all-

"Cassandra, it's me,"

Lysandra's voice eased all doubts and she quickly opened the door to the tall woman, though she again had turn her eyes away from the dark orbs that looked upon her.

"I was just coming in," Cassandra muttered, stepping back to allow entrance. "My morning has been . . ."

"Stressful, I know." Lysandra said softly, placing a cool palm on Cassandra's head. "But you left with emotions I cannot help but want to ease."

Cassandra raised an eyebrow. "Remind me to never again befriend an empath,"

Lysandra laughed lightly, though Cass could hardly hear any mirth in it. "Come, I wish to speak to you."

"How did I guess?"

They sat down on a thick set of chairs, Cassandra wishing to feel the elder's cool palm against her pained head again.

"Icarus seems able to take care of those for you,"

Cassandra glared. "Like I need the little louse,"

"I wouldn't exactly say little; hasn't he grown a bit? Taller than you now, isn't he?"

"Barely," Cassandra muttered, rubbing her temples.

Lysandra grinned and then gained a more serious composure. "I know you are probably tired of me nagging you constantly, but I had a vision and I am going to help you. I know we can stop the outcome."

"I don't think it's a medical problem!" Cassandra inserted hastily. "Ever since I got these headaches, I haven't gotten any visions, and I know I should have gotten some the first time Herc met Meg . . . Isn't there something we can try?"

"Cassandra, nothing like that has ever happened before," Lysandra responded slowly, seeing the anxious look on Cass's face. "Maybe you are not letting yourself See because of your headaches. Perhaps it's a stress response."

Cass sighed and rolled her eyes. "Like I ever had a choice before."

Lysandra, feeling lost at the crossroads, shrugged her shoulders a little. "Listen, I'm not completely convinced that the lack of visions and your headaches aren't related either, but-!" she held up a finger, seeing the bright look in Cassandra's eyes. "I still think you should rule out everything else- you need to go see a doctor, even if I have to get Icarus to chase you there."

Cassandra suddenly felt very stubborn and crossed her arms. "Ew!"

Lysandra chuckled gently, her face suddenly appearing older than Cassandra remembered. For a moment, they sat in silence, reflection playing in both minds. Cassandra found herself drifting back to her high school years, if a little reluctantly. All those years with Herc and Ick, and somehow she had survived it all. In fact, she thought quietly, she really wasn't sure how she would have turned out if she didn't have those two to keep in line . . .

"What held you two together?"

Cassandra came out of her reverie with a jolt and then glared at Lysandra. "Stop that!"

Lysandra seemed unperturbed. "What did?"

Cass sighed. "Hercules was always a nice guy, never judged anyone. And he was imperfect . . . and he knew it. That always helps."

"I was asking more about Icarus,"

Cassandra stood. "What is it with everyone assuming-!"

"Hush, hush calm down!" Lysandra waved her arms frantically, motioning for her pupil to sit, which she eventually did, obviously uncaring about the current subject. "I was just trying to lead with my next question- What do you have to live for?"

Cassandra started to answer and then paused, knowing instantly what Lysandra was doing. With a raise of the older woman's eyebrow, Cass succumbed to her wishes and thought about it for a moment. It was a strange question really- what did she have to live for? She thought about Hercules for a moment; he had always wanted to be a hero and he had a goal and dream to shoot for. Icarus . . . well, he had her (sadly) and his dream of flying. All though school, she only wished to find someplace where she would be accepted, though she had to admit, nothing would ever replace what Herc and Icarus gave her . . . well, what Herc gave her.

"I don't know," she replied after a moment, calmly and quietly this time.

"Oh, you do, you just won't admit it,"

Cass raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Miss I-Read-Emotions-_And_ -Thoughts?"

"It's a package deal," Lysandra came to her feet. "But I can't read the soul. Come on, I have an appointment set up for you already."

"Oo, you sounded philosophical for a moment," Cassandra stood up also, her grin tight and crooked. "And since when do you take responsibility for me and make appointments without my consent?"

"Look I _can_ get Icarus . . ."

"All those years of school together and you don't think I can outwit that fried brain of his?"

"Leverage, Cassandra, leverage . . ."

Cassandra laughed mockingly. "Yeah! Some leverage . . ."

"I think you underestimate him,"

"And I think you overestimate him."

"But you'll come, right? I won't have to drag you kicking and screaming?"

"You're going to have to drag me kicking, screaming, and cursing but . . ." she sighed and hung her head. "I'll come."

"I'll hold your hand if you want . . ."

"Oh, please," said Cassandra with heavily sarcastic excitement. "And I want a sucker at the end to!"

Lysandra laughed. "Icarus is enough of one, I think."

Cassandra glared and followed Lysandra out the door, thinking quietly to herself that death and high school had a lot in common- she was afraid of neither place but she still didn't want to go. But the problem with death was that she had no friends in the underworld.

Lysandra smiled but said nothing, simply grasping her shoulder tenderly.

* * *

Just a note of apology for the late update; life and what have you has been quite busy. I also want to thank all who have subscribed to my story! I'm glad to know it's been enjoyed!

Hope you all have a Merry- Whateveryoucelebrate!


	5. Chapter 5

My sharp-as-a-knife observations have seen that a vast majority of fics have disclaimers . . . so, yeah . . . I don't own Disney or Hercules or the TV Show or the characters in it. I do however own Lysandra, (The-One-Who-Dubbed-Himself-) Apollo, and Adelphos.

I also want to thank everyone who reviews and reads my story; you all rock and I appriciate what you do so much! You all get cookies.

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Part Five

There were reasons Cassandra had never wanted to be here and amidst the poking, prodding, and odd facial expressions they made her experience, the questions were also not a favorites of hers.

"Have you been under any vigorous exercise lately?"

"No,"

"Pregnant or nursing?"

"No . . ."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Could you be? Any chance at all?"

"No!"

"What has your diet been like lately?"

She paused and could only look at him for a moment and then finally shook her head slightly. "This is pointless . . . do you really have any idea what this could be? I've had these for weeks . . . months . . . is the food I eat really going to change anything?"

"Well, it might," said the doctor slowly, apparently not accustomed to patients such as Cassandra. "Perhaps dairy . . . in your diet . . ."

"Alright," responded Cassandra skeptically. "And tell me; can this kill me?"

"Well, no . . . at least, no one has ever died before . . ."

"And the lack of visions? Could it cause that?"

"Well, I'm not a . . . a . . . whatever you are, I wouldn't know." A long pause settled between them and then meekly, the doctor continued. "Perhaps you're stressed?"

Cassandra could have screamed and in fact, she almost did. Instead, she bit her lip and looked back up as calm as she could. "On an average day, its no breakfast, perhaps Speedy Pita a couple times a week for lunch and if I'm feeling up to it, some sort of homemade meal for dinner, usually some kind of meat and a salad. Otherwise, it's leftover night and everything tastes the same. I drink a lot of water and tea. That's all I got for you, doc, now diagnose me."

Outside, Lysandra waited on a hard chair, her tall form erect against the wall behind her as she leaned back and closed her eyes, taking in and spitting out the emotions of the public around her. Children's terror of seeing the doctor, an old man's certainty that he wasn't going to live much longer, a young woman hoping to be an expectant mother . . . all of these filtered through the elder seer. For anyone else, the mass of emotions might have driven them insane, but Lysandra had spent over forty-five years training, learning, and accepting her empathy. Her mind was free to wander.

And wander it did, on thoughts of Cassandra. She hadn't shown as much fear as she felt to her young friend and though she felt a sense of guilt by it, prayed that today's appointment would find something wrong. If it was a medical problem, there was more of a chance it could be fixed, that was assuming that Cassandra's visions had stopped in response to whatever was wrong with her body. The fact that Cassandra's visions had ceased all together had not exactly sat well with Lysandra, and it made her fret all the more. It was a common thing for her to get close to all her students, but there had been always something different about Cassandra, something that Lysandra did not want to lose. A connection she was not willing to break.

Cassandra was not going to die.

_Her head began to swim just then and she grew rigid to the familiar feeling of an oncoming vision. In the next instant, she felt as though her stock still body was being flung through the air and she saw Cassandra standing before the front door of Hercules's home, pounding mercilessly on the door. She was trying to force the door open but had little luck. In vain, she ran around to a window on the other side and tried desperately to look in, but it was far to dark to see. Frantic now, she started pounding on the glass, finally breaking it and tearing up the skin on her hands in the process. _

_But she was in now, and the place was dark and forbidding. A murderous air hung about the place and Cassandra was obviously nervous, but she kept going anyway. It was hard to see inside, with everything so dark but Cassandra determinedly set one foot in front of the other._

_A scream echoed from the other room, but it was not a scream of fear or terror. Rather, it was one of high strung anger and anxiety. Cassandra reacted quickly and sped towards a dimly lit room, her voice booming loudly, though Lysandra could not hear what was said. Someone had Meg pinned up against the wall, a knife to her throat. Where was Hercules? The attacker had froze, his head half turned towards Cassandra who now stood with a pot in hand, perhaps the only weapon she could find. Meg took her chance, supporting herself against the wall and kicking her attacker back. Whoever it was fell to the ground but in an instant, caught themselves and again took charge towards Meg who quickly sidestepped, though her wrist was caught by a rough, tattooed hand. Cassandra lunged with an irritable cry, raising the pot with every intention of bringing down a death blow . . . _

_But the attacker swung around at the last moment, throwing his force against Cassandra, knocking her down. The pot flew from her hand and she fought back in vain. She turned to try and see Meg, desperate for any help . . . but Meg was lying on the floor, unmoving. Cassandra screamed at her attacker but her struggle was useless, he was stronger, so much stronger than her. She could do nothing, nothing but surrender . . . if only she could see the face . . . but Cassandra's body went limp and her eyes drifted shut, her breathing cut short . . ._

Lysandra jerked out of her vision, drawing in a sharp breath. Her eyes came open suddenly, blinded by a heavy amount of light. As her eye sight came clearer to her, she nodded curtly to the people looking curiously around her. A sickening dread filled up inside her as she realized what it was she had Seen . . . Cassandra _had_ been murdered, and she wasn't the only one.

As soon as Cassandra appeared around the corner, Lysandra was on her instantly, dragging her to the door.

"It isn't the headaches that are going to kill you,"

"Great, _now_ you have another vision . . . I'm pregnant by the way,"

Lysandra fumbled to a stop, her face creating what Cassandra might describe as the world's best dying fish impression. "You're . . . you mean . . . really?"

Cassandra laughed, if a little sardonically. "No not really, I just had to see your reaction . . . which was pleasantly surprising since you're empathic. What do you think Herc would do if I told him that?"

"How was the rest of your visit?" prompted Lysandra, obviously not in the mood for jest.

"I gave him an overview on my diet and got lectured on the things I don't eat and should stay away from." Cass shrugged. "Kind of a pointless visit really. So, your vision?"

They climbed into the chariot, Lysandra hesitating noticeably. Cassandra stepped in front of the reins and looked up to Lysandra quizzically.

"Don't beat around the bush. Tell me,"

Lysandra sighed, gazing down at her sympathetically. What if her telling Cassandra was what killed her in the end? She couldn't live with that, but then, she was probably supposed to tell her, considering she got a vision about it. It wasn't dark yet, which meant the vision couldn't take place until an hour or more had gone by. Perhaps, it could be prevented.

"Lysandra?"

"Grab the reins. Go to Hercules's villa, I'll explain on the way."

"What is it with death suddenly being a popular theme?"

After the vision had been explained, Cassandra sent them into full speed, sending both horse and chariot down a dangerous journey through the packed streets of the city, nearly hitting a variety of innocent bystanders. Cassandra's mind set was now firm on her destination and Lysandra had no choice but to cling desperately to the side of the speeding chariot.

And how they made it to the gate still alive, Lysandra had never really figured out. But there came a new obstacle . . .

"I can't let you two enter," said the guard of the gate.

Cassandra was having none of it. "Listen, I was his best friend all through school, I'm a Seer! Cassandra; come on, you have to let us through!"

"I'm sorry miss, but do you know how many young women tell me that a day?"

Cassandra grabbed the guard by his front, jerking him down. "Listen, unless you let me in, Greece's living legend might just die from heart break tonight, so if you would kindly let us through-"

"Cass?"

She turned to see Hercules coming towards the gate with Pegasus following. She heaved a sigh of relief and let the guard go, who stumbled back a little fearfully.

"Herc! I need I to talk to you, now."

"Yeah, I uh . . . heard you explain things . . ." he opened the gate and let her through, offering a smile to Lysandra who came closely after. "Come on, let's go up to the house."

They were all positioned at the table, Meg joining them as soon as the door had opened.

"I don't know where Hercules was," Lysandra stated after she finished explaining her vision, and then pointed to Cassandra and Meg. "But neither one of you were alive."

A cold chill went around the room and Meg's hand clasped Hercules's arm tightly. A cold look overtook his face and pulled Meg closer to him, looking out the window almost expectantly.

"I was planning on checking on Phil. He said that there was something on the island, destroying all of his things and . . . well, the island in general." Hercules said slowly. "I promised I would come check it out."

"You have to stay here," Cassandra firmly told him, half rising from her seat. "Send a barge after him or something but you will not go on that island!"

All seemed surprised at the tone in Cassandra's voice and after a moment, she calmed down slightly and slunk back into the chair, resting her head in her hands. "And if you do go, then at least get Meg out of here. She can stay with me."

Herc looked torn and for the moment, could only grasp Meg's hand. The thought of her dying was obviously a slap in the face for him but likewise, he couldn't abandon Phil, but he wasn't going to leave her here. He felt bad as well, just sending her with Cass . . . what if she thought he didn't care enough about her to . . .

"Hercules, I'm sure Meg wouldn't be offended if you left to go get Phil. As long as she isn't here, I'm sure she'll be fine." Lysandra said to him softly.

"Don't worry Herc," Meg nudged him gently. "I'm a big tough girl, remember? I'll be alright with Cass for a while,"

Before anyone else could comment however, Cassandra's head burst with pain and she dug her fingers into her temple, letting out a low growl. She cursed loudly and Lysandra rushed to her aid, rubbing her head gently. Hercules was on his feet, Meg following after.

"What's wrong?" Herc asked, fearful of what he was seeing.

"It's her headaches, isn't it?" Meg said knowingly, ignoring the confused look that Hercules gave her. "I knew something was wrong that night,"

"Come on," Lysandra urged Cass to stand. "We need to get her home."

Cassandra seemed barely able to hold herself, barely able to focus. Herc helped restrain her from clawing her face, not matter how much she spat and cursed at him, and Meg followed after quietly, a thoughtful look on her face.

Something wasn't right here and her gut feeling told her that she just might know who was behind it. But what would Hades want with a seer's vision? She wasn't going to bring this up now though.

Right now, they just had to focus on getting someplace safe.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer of sorts: I don't own Hercules. If I did, there would be more merchandise available and the TV series would still be airing. However, I do own Lysandra, (the-one-who-dubbed-himself) Apollo and Adelphos.

Thank you so much for all that read and/or respond! You guys make it so worth it and its always so exciting to read your comments.

* * *

Part Six 

The one who had dubbed himself Apollo watched with great satisfaction as the seer withered under the pain of a lost vision. Perhaps he had intercepted that one too quickly, but he had almost missed it. Had she had seen what would happen to Hercules, she would have stopped him from going and then, he wasn't so sure he could pull off his next action completely. Speaking of which, he needed to check his progress on his new victim.

His new pawn was a farm boy with dark hair. A lanky fellow in stained clothing and handed down shoes who had become reclusive by the emotional weight of his brothers. He had once had a younger sister, a sweet, innocent child of five who he had been so close to but whose life had been ended abruptly by disease. When he was sixteen, he had quit his schooling and remained by his parents' side to farm as his brothers went off for better things. He was the perfect candidate and perhaps the least suspected. He couldn't leave room for error . . . not when he had come this close. And as Apollo looked upon his little farm boy, Adelphos by birth but called Rags by his family, he knew he couldn't risk losing the pawn he had found and successfully shaped. He was on his way to Thebes now, the dear boy was, and his intentions were clear.

Apollo's excitement was insurmountable.

The "death" of Cassandra, with the appropriate thoughts given to Meg might just send Hercules on a one way ticket to Hades. He couldn't touch the mind of a demi-god, so he would use the next best thing. Hercules would blindly think her death an act of revenge from the God of Tartarus and it was then Apollo would make his move. With Cassandra stuck in limbo with him, he would have a soul to take his place and the seer would be out of his way to ruin anything. He killed two birds with one stone. He would then throw out a deal, one familiar to Meg and one that sounded good to Herc. But would it be enough to convince the renowned hero to sell his soul? Hades had not thought of that and once Apollo presented the idea, made it work, and regained his name with Hades, then he would tell them where Cassandra really was. Not her body, of course (of which he would have to quickly dispose of, for fear that it became healed or she passed into Underworld) but her soul itself. The idea was perfect and Hades would never again forget him.

But then . . . there was Icarus. He might just get in the way. But he wasn't to worried about Cassandra's other shadow to much.

How much could a brain fried crazy do?

And of course, there was Lysandra. He hadn't been worried about her at first, but already she had messed up his plans. It seemed fate was playing against him as well. He had received the same vision from Cassandra that Lysandra had gotten, which meant that Lysandra was going to interfere. He was having to change the intentions of his new pawn already, because she had learned to early that Cassandra and Meg were going to be "killed". Cassandra not _quite_, but not Meg. He didn't need her out of the way quite yet.

But Adelphos would have to find his way to the hero's home first and find out that no one was there. Apollo had little to no strength now, after having intercepted another vision from Cassandra. He would have strength then to simply mention the idea of going to one of his friends' homes.

Now if Hercules would just step out the door, things might start working.

"How long has she had these headaches?" Hercules asked, as Cassandra started to calm down, her eyes avoiding all else in the room. "She's never said anything about them. And how do you know about them?"

Meg silently looked up to him and touched his shoulder. "The night you proposed. She had gone out to Pegasus's stable to just find the darkness I think. She said they were nothing to worry about, but I wasn't so sure then."

"Please, talk like I'm not here," Cassandra's voice did not hold the same tone to it as it usually did, making her appear rather weak. Lysandra smiled softly.

"You might want to let Hercules in on what's been going on," Lysandra offered, raising an eyebrow.

"No," was Cassandra's flat answer. "The last thing I need is more people stressing out over me."

Hercules sighed. "I'm already worried about you Cass."

Cassandra firmly shook her head. "Don't, you have enough to worry about."

Hercules turned away with another sigh, saying nothing. Meg turned and watched him sympathetically, catching the sign of hurt in his eyes. He wouldn't say anything though, at least not now. Leaving both seers behind, she ran and caught him at the door. He paused before turning to meet her eyes and she gently touched his cheek.

"Try not to worry," she kissed him quickly, smiling at his boyish grin as a slight tinge of red colored his face. "She'll let us both in on what's going on eventually. Let Lysandra talk to her for a bit."

He rested his hands on her waist. "I can't help but worry about what's going on. I mean, if she's been having problems going on that she doesn't want to tell me about, what am I supposed to make of that? And then that vision . . . Gods Meg, I don't ever want to lose you or Cass."

"And you wont," she forced herself to smile. "We'll be okay, Herc."

He still seemed nervous and uncertain. "Maybe if I just bring Phil over here for a while, then I can go back over tomorrow. We've got something close to an army at the house . . . I'll check that out to,"

"Herc," Meg stopped him, placing her fingers against his lips. "You do what you need to do. You heard what Lysandra told us; as long as I'm here, I'll be fine."

He could only stare at her for a moment, his heart still beating wildly at the beauty she possessed, reflecting on how her words seemed so confident, giving him that extra boost he could always use. He drew her closer to him, embracing her tightly.

"Do you think I should let Icarus know?" he said after a moment.

"I'm sure Cassandra would _love_ you for it," Meg laughed gently.

"I think I will anyway," he hugged her again and turned to leave, his hand trailing behind him as he kept his fingertips against hers for a few more moments. "I promise I'll be back as soon as I can."

Meg rushed after him, stepping in front of his path and threw her arms around his neck. "Promise me you'll be careful,"

"Of course I promise,"

She kissed him swiftly once more. "I love you,"

His crooked smile came forward again. "I love you to, Meg,"

She pulled away from him, watching quietly as he jumped up onto Pegasus and gave her one more quick glance. She stayed there, arms crossed over each other, until he was out of sight and then turned to go back inside.

She knew she couldn't be too worried. She knew it when she first began to love him what she was getting herself into. He would have to leave her a lot to save Greece from whatever evil was plaguing it; that was his job. He couldn't give it up for her and she respected that. But now that they could be together . . . she couldn't help but worry about him. She shut the door behind her quietly, keeping her head up as much as she could. He would be okay. He had to be.

Back in the main room, Cassandra was sitting up, noticeably exhausted. Meg sat across from her.

"Those really throw you down, don't they?" she asked, trying to make conversation.

"Nothing I can't handle," Cassandra replied. "It's not like the headaches are going to kill me right?"

Lysandra shot her a dark look and Meg raised an eyebrow.

"So, Meg, is there any date for the wedding yet?"

Yes, Meg knew this tactic. Quick, change the subject before I have to answer a question. Clever move . . . if Meg had known Cassandra better, she would have willingly prodded a little further but she might as well not leave a bad mark. She would let Herc do the prodding. Or Icarus. He seemed rather good at that.

"Not yet," Meg gave in with a tender grin. "We haven't had much of a chance . . . or rather, we haven't had much of a chance to _agree_ on a date . . ."

"Oh, your first argument?"

"Not quite," Meg raised an eyebrow. "You just wait though. Your day will come . . ."

Cassandra held up her hands in self defense. "I hardly think-!"

A sudden, frantic knocking sounded at the door, cutting off any and all conversation. Lysandra stood up in a heartbeat, peaking out the window. Meg and Cass both sat rigidly, holding their breaths as the elder seer's body remained tense. Finally, she drew back, letting out a small breath of air and walked towards the door.

Cassandra, taking this as a sign of safety, stood and went quickly to the door, feeling a bit more anxious than she would have thought she was. She yanked the door open and nearly fell to the ground with the impact of Icarus's charging form.

"Oh Cassie-poo! I just HEARD!" he began to squeeze her tightly and she unsuccessfully try to push him away. "Are you alright? How's your head? Have you been stressed lately?"

"OFF Icarus!"

"And Herc just told me! Oh, you know, if you ever need me-!"

"I don't,"

"You just say the word!"

"I didn't!"

"And I'll be there . . .!"

"Icarus . . ."

With a dramatic pose on Icarus's part, Cassandra hung her head defeated, shut the door with her free hand and allowed him to hang on her for a few more minutes, before forcing herself from his grip once seeing the look on Meg's face. Lysandra grinned at her and she threw her hands in the air.

"Alright! Fine, let's all congregate at Cassandra's house," she sat down with her head in her hands. "I just hope this gets over with. Quickly."

Lysandra stood at the window, her eyes searching the streets, her thin fingers rapping the side of her arm. Something wasn't right, something was making her uneasy.

"You know, and just before I left," came Icarus's excited voice. "I saw a whole group of officers and such going towards Herc's place . . . do you think another fan girl broke in again?"

The whole room seemed to become even more quiet and the look on Meg's face just added to the atmosphere. Cassandra silenced him with a look and Lysandra turned back to the window. It was well and dark now and she could hear the cracking of distant thunder. Soon, the soft patter of rain came dancing against the windows. Meg shifted restlessly now and took to pacing around the room.

And all waited, as though expecting the worst to come barging through the door.

"I shouldn't have let him go," Meg murmured quietly.

However, nobody, not even Icarus had a response.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Hercules. Wish I did, but I don't. So enjoy!

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Part Seven

It was a tense hour that went by. The storm had gotten worse and with every flash of lightening, even Meg jumped. She had taken up a post by Lysandra, looking anxiously for any sign of Herc and Pegasus. Lysandra continued to tap on the side of her arm, her black eyes reflecting the worry on her face. No one had spoken a word the entire time, all intent on listening. Listening for what, none of them were entirely sure. Cassandra sat next to Icarus, her face unreadable and Icarus, aware that what he said had just brought a much darker mood on things, sat stiff and quiet, twiddling his thumbs. However, after the next crack of thunder, Cassandra could take no more and stood up.

"Can you two just step back from the window? Gods, you're making me nervous . . ." she said hastily.

Lysandra shifted back slightly, turning to face Cassandra with a look of apology. "I don't know what else to do," she murmured.

Meg didn't move. Cassandra gazed at her for a moment but tensely sat back down without a word. There was just a stance or look about Meg that said plainly she wasn't going to budge. In fact, she moved closer to the window, her delicate fingers touching the foggy glass. Lysandra sat in a chair close by, her face tired and drawn. Cassandra hated this and was made bitterer by the lasting pain of her previous headache. Vainly she rubbed her temples, knowing that nothing of the sort was going to help.

Icarus looked up at her, staring with question in her eyes. As much as she tried to ignore the look she finally gave in.

"What?"

"I can rub your head again . . ."

She sighed, though the offer was tempting. She remembered the relief she felt the last time but inside fought with her reluctance to give in to Icarus. After a few moments of fighting with herself, she met in the middle, sounding as annoyed as half of her felt.

"If you really want to, Icarus,"

She glared at the look Lysandra gave her.

Icarus, probably excited just to move and do something in the everlasting silence, instantly jumped behind her slouched form and once again to massage her head. She relaxed noticeably and let her eyes close, suddenly not caring about anything.

Meg, however, could care less about what was going on in the room. Her thoughts were flying with Hercules, with what had happened at his home and how he was doing with this storm. She leaned against the window now, her cheek resting against the glass. She could look no where else but the sky, could think of nothing else but her hero, and could feel nothing else but the coolness of the window. She did well to keep herself from trembling but continued to grip her arms until her skin was white. Shouldn't he be back yet? Or rather, couldn't he be? She knew she shouldn't worry about him; he had faced worse things than this before. But that was before she was part of the larger picture. What if he wasn't focused?

Curse it, she had to stop worrying! What would she do after she was married to him? She had to get a grip on herself, he would be alright . . .

A darting shadow quickly caught her attention and she drew her eyes from the rather forbidding sky to the abandoned streets. She watched quietly for a while and then quickly gained interest as whoever it was hid behind a shop corner at the same time a dozen chariots rushed by, seemingly in hot pursuit. A cold, terror seized Meg for a moment and all she could do was watch as the stranger leaped swiftly across the street.

"What is it, Meg?" asked Lysandra, rising from her seat, sensing the fear from Meg.

"I don't know," she mumbled quietly intensely watching as he darted around to the side of one of the houses to the side. "There's someone out there,"

For the moment he was out of sight, Meg turned and looked around the room for any sign of a potential weapon. The first thing she saw, she grabbed (which turned out to be an unopened wine bottle) and returned to her post. By this time, Cassandra had already stood up with Icarus right beside her. Lysandra walked swiftly over to Meg, peering out the dark window.

But Meg was already at the top of her game and had spotted him again, watching as he determinedly made his way towards Cassandra's house.

"He's coming here!" she yelled, leaping towards the door that she just realized was not locked.

But too late it seemed. As soon as she touched the handle, the door flung open, making her stumble backwards with a cry of surprise. The wine bottle smashed to the floor, glass spraying everywhere.

For a second, both intruder and victims seemed frozen in time, waiting to see what the other one would do. Everyone could clearly see the knife brandished in his hand and the wild look in his eyes. Cassandra instantly looked to Lysandra. If anything, she would trust the word of an empath before she did anything.

"What do you want?" Lysandra demanded strongly, breaking the silence. "Why are you here?"

A cold smile possessed his lips and he looked directly towards Cassandra. "Her,"

Lysandra's features hardened and she stepped in front of Cass with a protective stance. "I know what you were sent here to do and I assure you, you won't succeed tonight. You are vastly outnumbered, if you haven't noticed."

"Oh, am I?" he chuckled humorlessly.

Without warning, he surged forward and Lysandra pushed Cass out of the way, taking the blow herself as he knocked out of his way. He lunged instantly on top of Cassandra's vulnerable form, holding her down with the knife at her throat. Meg was the next one to react and she threw her weight against him but was easily flung aside as he desperately tried to hold down Cassandra's struggling form. Meg crashed against a wall and was down for a moment, struggling to gain her feet.

And amidst all of this, Icarus was in a state of wild anger, a feeling of hatred rising up like it had never risen before. How dare someone threaten his Cassandra! How dare he harm those who tried to defend her! Adrenaline pumping, Icarus could hardly remember thinking anything as he plowed blindly into the side of the attacker, throwing them both to the ground. Another flash of lightening lit up the room and Icarus and the attacker rolled and fought on the floor. Icarus seemed to be in a strange state of rage, but his strength was not exactly a match for the man he fought with. The blade pierced him and he cried out, a clash of thunder only adding to the atmosphere of the moment. But Icarus refused to release his hold, did not even both to look to where he had been stabbed. It wasn't until he been strangled against the floor that he began to doubt his actions.

But Cassandra was on her feet by now, yelling and screaming at the intruder. A burning fire went through her when she heard Icarus's cry of pain and she took the moment he shoved Icarus to the ground to take the matter into her own hands. With as much as force as she could gather, yanked back on his head by his hair, delivering a well a deserved kick to the stomach and knocked him to the side, grabbing the knife that fell beside him. Meg was already on her feet and coming towards them, breathing hard. Cassandra helped Icarus to his feet as well, shuddering at the feel of warm blood against her hands.

All three looked down upon the man with malice in their eyes as he groaned and doubled over. His head turned up slightly, insane eyes looking at them all in turn. He seemed about to faint for a moment and then unexpectedly lunged again, seemingly against the strength he possessed. He knocked Cassandra down, Icarus falling as well, and grabbed her shoulders with shout of anger. Meg saw the knife fly from her hand and instantly retrieved it, leaping back at the attacker. But again, he flung her aside, though much less strongly this time. And seeing that she had the advantage of a weapon, he leaped away from Cassandra and grabbed Meg's wrists, one cracking painfully in his grip, until she let the knife fall to the floor. He then grabbed her by her shoulders and shoved her against the wall, smiling savagely.

"My aren't we feisty?" he snarled into her face.

She spat into his.

It was then that someone stepped into the doorway, blocking whatever outside light there was. The stranger turned slightly and Meg continued to resist, not quite sure if she should be ready for another struggle or not.

"Meg!"

A part of her relaxed at the familiar sound of that voice.

It was Hercules.

With a loud bellow, he came towards her and she crumpled to the ground the next instant as the intruder dropped her and ran, obviously realizing who it was. He shoved Cassandra aside as she tried to stop him and he sped around the corner, charging down a random hallway, Hercules hot on his trail. Meg came to her feet, getting help from Phil who had just entered, and was discouraged to find herself shaking.

She jumped as a loud, brutal yell sounded from a room down the hall and the next thing she heard was the breaking of glass. Intensely she watched the hallway, trying to imagine what happened . . . when Herc came stumbling back, she ran to him, despite her own pains.

It was only then that she realized how bloody and cut up he was. He shook his head at the question in her eyes and gently placed a large hand under her broken wrist. She winced and bit her lip.

"Oh Meg . . ."

With her other hand, she gently squeezed his shoulder and both looked over to where Cassandra bent over Icarus, struggling to get him to his feet. He still seemed conscience, but pain was spread over his features very clearly. Hercules walked over slowly and lifted his best friend with ease, placing him on the couch, looking down on him with worry. He looked over at Cassandra, but her eyes were stuck only on Icarus's face.

"Is Lysandra okay?" Meg broke the strange silence with her own shaky voice.

Cassandra came instantly out of her thoughts and rushed over to the elder seer. She was still lying on the floor, her eyes closed and her body unmoving. A strange fear went through Cass as she bent down, placing her hands against Lysandra's forehead, only to find the skin cold and pale. Trembling fingers found their way to her neck and she gave a slight sigh.

"She's still got a pulse and she's still breathing, but it's really . . . shallow,"

The words hung on the air for a moment until Herc came beside her and lifted Lysandra into his arms. With hardly a word, he motioned his head towards the door. Cassandra and Meg braced Icarus and helped him up, Meg's wrist blissfully numb by now.

And outside, the rain seemed to have slowed to a calm drizzle, the thunder had long gone and the skies were fading into a gentle teal with the night.

And all felt as Meg's wrist was; all but one were blissfully numb, no one really ready to quite grasp what happened.

If only they could have felt the things Cassandra were feeling, they might come back to reality.


	8. Chapter 8

I don't own Hercules. Wish I did. There would be a lot more publicity. :)

Thanks again for everyone who reviews!

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Part Eight 

Adelphos ran until his legs gave out on him, retching and coughing until his lungs felt about to burst as he struggled to hold himself on his hands and knees.

He was beside a river; far away from any curious eyes, of that he was certain. How he had avoided all those people looking for him, he wasn't sure. But right now, his focus returned to his hands, of which were now becoming crushed into the earth.

He rocked back onto his knees, gazing at his dirty, bloody palms with terror. He had never liked the sight of blood, never liked the feel of it. What was this sudden lust to kill? To torture? His brothers had done this to him, placed the need to lash out inside of him, sparked the flame that would drive him to this destination . . .

But had they really? Another part of him spoke so loudly that he almost felt as though he were being torn in two directions. What _was_ he doing? Really- he should just stop this now . . . No, he had to finish what he started. He couldn't quit now. Someone would find him out eventually, if his parents didn't first . . . oh gods, his parents . . . his stomach suddenly became sick with worry and he stood back on his feet, his legs buckling.

At least he didn't have a body to worry about.

Gathering his wits, he began to focus on his hands. He had, in a desperate attempt to escape Hercules, broken through one of the windows in the back of the house after failing to find another door. He hadn't noticed the glass before, he was in such a dire need to escape he could hardly care. Afterwards, he just ran. And now that he was certain he wasn't being followed, he noticed that blood and the shards that stuck of out his skin. He had never liked blood, hated it . . . but now he had to face it. Biting his lip, he started to tend to his right hand, pushing against the dark, calloused skin as he tried to push the glass up to the surface. He swallowed continually, feeling faint at the sight of his own dirty blood.

What would his mother ask? What would she say? Better yet, how would he respond?

Funny, he thought, that Hercules became his enemy. Ever since the hero had first started making a name for himself, Adelphos was another avid, adoring fan and in fact, often imagined meeting him and becoming a hero himself, not necessarily as great but that would be alright. He had always seen Hercules as a tender, kind, supportive man who would be willing to actually talk to someone like him . . . his brothers laughed, but he believed it.

And now, the famed hero had turned to enemy number one. What a paradoxical world this was . . .

As Adelphos tried to sort out the irony of his life, a new thought stirred in him. What if he became better than the great and mighty Hercules? What if he actually- Like he could! He thrust a large piece of glass from his hand, watching it sternly until it disappeared amongst the tall grasses.

Why should he even bother? Why should he even care anymore?

He had already messed life up for himself- people would find him. Someone was bound to have seen his face.

But he could redeem himself, rise up from the turmoil . . .

No he couldn't! What was he thinking?

Gods, all these thoughts- he felt he could scream. And yet, these thoughts continued his entire way home, even as he climbed the hill that overlooked his family's home and farm. He paused on the top of that hill for a moment, the sweet, warm air brushing against his face with just the faintest scent of rain. Didn't he used to love this? Didn't he used to live, just for this, without such heaviness on his shoulders? He scanned the fields and fell back to the memories of his childhood, with his younger sister by his side. Oh, such innocent years . . . such carefree, innocent years that he could now only grasp memories of.

He saw his father emerge from the house, his broad shoulders hunched as they always were, scanning the fields, probably looking for any sign of his return. And then, his father's form turned and caught sight of his son on the hill. The small man below began to wave frantically. Adelphos smiled a little, perhaps the first time in days and raised a pained hand in greeting. As he brought his hand down, he gazed as his bloody palms. Most or all the glass had been picked out, leaving deep red gouges everywhere else. Already he had come up with the story he would tell his mother when she asked him what he had done as his father, silent with concern, wrapped his wounded hands.

He had been helping a potter move some of his pieces and they fell to the ground and broke and he fell to, catching himself on the many, sharp, jagged pieces. Never mind that he had sent people to the hospital. Never mind that he might have killed someone.

A brief chill claimed him and he shivered in the damp air and he stumbled a little on his descent. Even just a week ago, he had never even thought about killing anything other than a pig or a cow. The thought of taking another human life was . . . beyond understanding. Why was he doing this to himself?

Taking in a deep, steadying breath, he thought briefly of the woman who he had first struck and could clearly hear the sound of her body colliding with the floor . . . the sickening sound of breaking bone. . . was she even still alive? Her head had been hit hard, of that he was sure. And then the dark haired fellow . . . he had stabbed him. He couldn't even be sure where, his intended victim had drug him away to soon. And she had been so angry, so defensive that he had actually been afraid of her. And then there was Meg, whose tender wrist he had broken and whose saliva had dried on his hot cheek. How those fiery eyes had just simply burned through his, how much anger and hatred had shown through them . . . but he would never forget the feeling of being faced by Hercules.

It was quite literally nothing at all of how he imagined it would.

He had never been so afraid in his life.

He came back to reality the instant his father's voice penetrated his thoughts and the warmth and love of home healed everything temporarily for the moment. His father's aged hand stiffly grasped his shoulder.

"How's the city then, Rags?"

"It's still there, Pop, just as loud and busy as ever."

"Did yeh see that famed hero of yours? Hercules? Yeah, did yeh seem him?"

Adelphos looked at his father for a moment, an empty, airy feeling chilling him through the bone. He swallowed hard and grasped his father's hand back, forcing himself to smile.

"No, Pop, I didn't,"

"Ah, that's to bad, son. Not enough time for yeh, hm? Well, that's okay now, that's okay. Busy man you know, making a good name for himself at least. Maybe yeh can next time son, prove those brother's of yours wrong."

"Yeah Pop, maybe next time,"

As his father led him towards the house, Adelphos took one last look behind him, his eyes lingering on the far hills he had crossed and the bloody glass trail he left behind. What else had he left behind, he wondered? What part of him could never come home? He thought briefly again on the people he hurt and wondered how they were doing. He wondered if Hercules would be looking for him, seeking him out by the air, with his sword drawn at the ready and his face set in heroic determination to teach a valuable lesson to the one who had hurt his friends.

The next thing he knew, he was being squished into a warm hug from his ever short mother and he kissed her cheek, wincing as she took his hands in his. She looked down at them with panic, stuttered a moment, and brought reality crashing down once more on his shoulders.

"My goodness, Adelphos," she never did call him Rags. "What have you done to your hands?"

He lied to her without blinking.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Herc or anything related to the movie or show. I do own Lysandra, Adelphos, and (The-One-That-Dubbed-Himself) Apollo.

Thanks everyone for the reviews! You all rock!

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Part Nine 

The room was very dark, lit only by the warm glow of fire light. Thick, cushioned furniture lined the tall walls, giving the room a small, narrow feel. However, with all the furnishings in the room, only two people occupied it, waiting with rigid backs and pale faces.

Cassandra turned her head slightly, glancing at Hercules's slumped form. An assorted amount of healers had taken them all in at the late hour. They had only briefly looked at her and they spent little time on Herc. After finding nothing broken or fatal, they let him go as well. Cassandra had seen Herc more clearly now that they were here and was quietly shocked at the bruised and battered condition he was in. Just minutes before, they had both been informed that Meg was fine, save severe bruising and a broken wrist, which was currently being mended. Neither one had heard a word about Lysandra or Icarus.

"So . . . what got you?" Cassandra asked quietly.

Herc raised his head, his face dark. "Some sort of dragon like creature. I probably could have taken him easily, but I didn't find him first. He found me,"

"I see." muttered Cassandra, not sure of the tone in his voice. Just by the look on his face, she wasn't going to prod farther.

Silence.

Then Herc finally spoke. "We've been friends for a long time Cassandra,"

"Yep."

"Survived school together,"

"Amazingly enough."

"Are still tackling the real world together."

"What are you getting at Herc?"

"What's been going on with you? And don't say nothing I need to worry about, I know better than that."

She sighed, raising her eyebrows as he looked at her expectantly. Her tired and tried mind was willing to crash and give in and as a final note of reluctance she turned her eyes away and stared straight ahead, holding her head in her hands. Hercules was about to speak before she bluntly cut him off. "You really want to know? Fine. You would have found out anyway when the time came."

She stood up then, her back to him. She didn't want to see his face, didn't want to see the look he gave her. She knew already how worried he would be and could already hear what he might be saying . . .

"I haven't had a vision since you started going on your heroic missions. Instead, I get massive headaches. I always thought the two might be related. However, Lysandra and many other seers never thought so, simply because nothing like that has ever happened before. So, I blew it off and dealt with it. Just this morning, Lysandra came to me with a vision . . ." she sighed heavily and lowered her voice, somewhat amazed at all that had happened today. "She saw me dead,"

She let the silence drag on, feeling the heaviness of his stare against her back. For a moment, she struggled with what to say next and then, leapt straight into more recent events. "She thought it might be the headaches and even dragged me to a doctor. Then, she had another vision and I was murdered. I was at your house and you weren't there, and Meg and I . . . well, you know it from there."

The silence dragged on, seemingly endless. Cassandra didn't move and she heard a distinct stop of breath behind her. She didn't want to know what was going through his head.

"So . . . so, I mean, that's passed now, right?" Herc stammered after a long moment, his voice weak. "We stopped that vision from happening . . . you're safe now?"

She sighed, bowing her head. "No Herc, not necessarily. Lysandra's visions can take place anywhere from one to two, perhaps three days. Sometimes four."

She heard him moving behind her; probably some sort of nervous movement of his. "This is my fault . . ."

She turned sharply, her eyes catching his fiercely and she lunged forward, pressing a finger into his chest, surprising Hercules with the sudden motion. "Don't you _ever_ say that again . . . you are in no way at fault in this. How can you blame yourself? If anything, the blame should be put on my shoulders, not yours!"

She drew away and he stood up. "No, I should . . . I should have went after him. What if he comes back?"

"There were lives at stake, Herc! Meg and I couldn't have taken everyone done here by ourselves. Come on, you know that. And Phil and Pegasus stayed at the house, don't beat yourself up about it."

"But Cassandra . . . he hurt all of you! That's . . ."

"That's my fault," she muttered deeply, in a tone that cut Hercules off. She turned away from him again. "He was going for me. And everyone intervened and ultimately, they all got hurt and I didn't. This is all wrong! Don't you see? If I would have-"

"Cass, don't . . ."

"No!" she turned on him sharply again, her eyes flaring. "If it wasn't for me, Meg would not be hurt right now. You wouldn't have been so distracted that you were unprepared and you wouldn't have gotten hurt like you did. If it wasn't for me, Lysandra wouldn't be hanging on a thin life thread right now. If it wasn't for me . . ." she paused, in mid gesticulation and relaxed her arms, regarding him almost uncertainly. "If it wasn't for me, Icarus would not be . . . hurt. That annoying louse . . ."

He put a hand on her shoulder but she drew away from him, if a little meekly. She sat back down with her back to him, her knees drawn up to her chin. Hercules could only gaze at her sadly and was left without anything to say. Still locked in some sort of tension, he, to, sat again, drawing his eyes to the floor, wishing for something to happen, to just break the silence. . .

Cassandra, meanwhile, was wrapped up in her own thoughts. He, whoever "he" was, had come after her. Had intentionally come there for her. How ironic was it that she was the only one not to be hurt? The picture of Lysandra's unconscious form was carved deeply into her memory, the sound of Meg's wrist cracking forever replayed through her thoughts. And she couldn't bear to bring herself to remember the sound of Icarus's cry, the sight of him struggling . . . for her . . .

All for her. It wasn't right.

Anger boiled inside her now as she quietly reflected on what had happened. What was it about her that made someone want to kill her? What had she done? Now that she thought about it, it made sense to go after those around her, harming those close to her. It didn't matter why anymore, she frankly didn't care. No one hurt her friends; no one dared get close enough to use them even. And now Hercules knew what was going on and, like she guessed he might, had blamed himself. The legendary hero that couldn't save his friends.

Her murderer would pay for that, to.

Funny, she thought for a moment, that she think of this person as _her _murderer. Other people might be afraid, might go directly to authority. They might come to Hercules. But not her- she wanted to face this by herself. She had relied so much on Lysandra in the past, had listened to her today. And now she was paying for being there for her. Cassandra wasn't about to let this go any farther.

If it was her he wanted, it was her he would get.

And he would regret it.

"Meg!"

She came out of her thoughts to the sound of Herc's tired voice and turned her head around to see Meg coming out of a doorway on the far right, her wrist and arm bandaged. Hercules was quickly on his feet to meet her, a squat woman clothed in white waddling close after. The couple embraced and Cassandra joined them as the nurse looked about to explain something.

"I'm sorry to say that nothing can be said right now about your other two friends."

"What does that mean?" Cassandra interjected hastily.

The woman looked up at her through pudgy eyes, her thin lips tightening. "They are in bad condition, the woman more so than the other, I'm afraid."

"But they are going to be all right? Both of them?" Cassandra prompted.

"It's too early to tell hon," whispered the nurse.

Cassandra shook her head angrily and didn't retort. She was deaf as Herc and Meg asked the nurse a few questions and fell back into her thoughts again. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense to leave soon but she was reluctant to leave without knowing how Lysandra and Icarus were doing. If something happened . . . which it wouldn't . . . she wanted to be here. But since it wasn't, and she didn't want Lysandra knowing what she was doing, perhaps now was even the best time to track down her new enemy. But what if something did happen? She rubbed her head, agitated with herself. And this time, there was no way she could let Herc know or Meg for that matter. He would stop her, or go with her, or talk her out of it. She was adamant on this one.

"Cass, are you alright?"

She looked up at Herc and nodded. "Yeah, just fine. Say, what are two going to do tonight?"

"Well," Herc looked at Meg then back at Cass. "I think I'll check how Phil's doing and I'll probably come back here."

Meg nodded. "Sounds good to me,"

Cassandra sighed. "Okay. Yeah, I was going to stay here for the night to."

"There are some empty rooms upstairs," said the nurse in a motherly like way. "You three just go on and make yourselves as comfortable as you can. If anything changes, we'll let you know."

Herc and Meg said their thanks and retreated from the room. Cassandra stood back, contemplating. Funny, wasn't it, how they said "if anything changes." They don't say something like "if they are getting any better." They were going to be alright, she was sure of it. Nothing bad was going to happen.

Nothing bad _could _happen, because Cassandra was leaving now to avenge them.


	10. Chapter 10

Sorry for the late update! Thank you so much to all of you that read this . . . you guys are my heros!

I don't own Herc and anything Herc related.

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Part Ten 

So this was how she was going to play this game. Interesting move, but now it was time to intervene.

The one who had dubbed himself Apollo had grown more interested with Cassandra as the night progressed. She fascinated him and turned out to be nothing like he was assuming her to be. However, this only meant he would have to rethink a select few things and alter his plan a little. The idea for vengeance was his own, but he had not urged her to run off like she did. That was on her own impulse. But on foot? As though she would ever find the dear farm boy on foot . . . much less catch up to him. He watched her tread all the way home. Hercules had taken the chariot and was already there after she had told him tiredly that she wasn't going to go with him, that she wanted to stay in case they heard any news. She watched him go, and then slunk away.

It was now he gave her the thought that maybe, using Pegasus would give her a better advantage. He, Apollo, would simply point her in the right direction and he doubted she would have much trouble after that. Hopefully. Sometimes, mortals could be so hard to understand . . .

His fingers numb in the small pool, he moved his target now to Adelphos, who was lying in his bed, hands bandaged with an anxious mother by his side. Apollo cringed as he felt the regret his young pawn was feeling and new that he was losing his grip on him. There was so much worry on his mind, so much doubt, and so much confusion. He had never even thought of killing before, much less harming someone like he had. So much guilt, so much pain . . . poor, poor Adelphos . . .

But he had to get a grip on the situation! He had to finish what he started! Wasn't it Hercules who had blindly attacked him? His favorite idol of all time? Who knew what could have happened if he had caught him . . .

Feeling weary, Apollo pulled his fingers from the water and watched calmly as the vision of the mortal world disappeared. He could not waste his energy, now that things were moving rather quickly. No, now it was a delicate time where he had to make sure things got from point Alpha, to point Beta and the simplest hesitation could lead to catastrophe. He could not risk that, not now, not when he was so close.

He rose to his feet, and walked to the other end of the high cliff. He scanned the foggy horizons of his home. He was contemplating, rethinking his strategy. He remembered so few things that Hades had said in flaming anger before he banished him to this wasteland. But one thing he did say, for certain, is that a willing soul to take his place here would release him. He counted on making Cassandra that willing soul. But after that, he had to count on Meg luring Hercules to Hades, a sort of irony that Apollo found laughable. He also had to count on Adelphos keeping Cassandra just barely breathing. This would mean he would have to move fast, considering Adelphos was already cracking under pressure. He would have to keep encouraging the boy . . .

After he had Hercules and Meg where he wanted them, he would show up. He would tell Hercules that he had in fact, trapped Cassandra's soul and had hid her body. The hero would act on instinct and risk his life trying to save her. This was where Apollo would mention that demi-gods and gods alike could not touch limbo, since this was what Hades had told him and had thus stripped him of most of his gifted power.

And then . . . then Apollo would make the offer the famed hero could not refuse- give up whatever god-like qualities he possessed, become a mere mortal, like Hades had convinced him to do only days ago.

It was here Apollo stopped and looked at a different path he could take. He had assumed Hades would take Hercules's power, beings that Hades was the only god present. But now that he thought about it, did he really want to suck up to the god again after where he had banished him? Did he really want to be in his service? The more he thought about it, the more it made sense even to think that Hercules would trust him more than Hades to get his lovely, little Seer back. He still retained some small amount of power, Hades had not stripped him of everything . . .

So, what if Hercules gave his power to _him_ instead?

He could be almost as godlike as Hades . . . then things could really start turning in his favor!

Apollo's excitement building, he laughed loudly, his ragged voice echoing unheard over the stretch of wasteland. And then, perhaps, if he could create a name for himself within the mortal world, he would bring Cassandra back to him. A lovely Seer could always be helpful, after all . . .

Cassandra, beginning to doubt her actions as soon as she arrived home, looked anxiously around for Hercules. She could see Phil, standing gruffly in front of the door, Pegasus beside him watching the many troopers around them as the house and property went under heavy inspection. Cassandra grew rather nervous with so many people around but strode determinedly towards Phil. Like she could find the maniac anyway this late at night! And on foot . . . what was she thinking?

"Oy Cassandra! Lookin for Herc? He's inside,"

She walked up to Phil as he flagged her down. "What's he doing?"

"One of the investigators found a weapon; he went to go see it. Poor kid- he's feeling really guilty 'bout all this," Phil looked around for a moment, drumming his fingers against his arm. He had never been sure about Cassandra's company . . . "Listen, I'll let him know you're here, he should be out in a bit,"

Cassandra watched him go, her eyes flickering to Pegasus, who whistled a greeting to her. A smile began to curl on her lips as she thought that maybe, her plan to pursue her ill fated murderer wasn't so out of league after all. The sun would come up soon anyway and she had gotten her second wind so she was no longer tired. Pegasus stared at her thoughtfully and she took his nose in her hands.

"Hey Peg, Herc was pretty beat up today, wasn't he?"

The winged horse nodded his head.

"And he is feeling pretty guilty about all that's happened when really, it's me who was the target." Pegasus turned his head, listening intently to her words. She continued quickly, not wanting to Hercules catch her here and in the process of leaving. "So, since I don't stand much of a chance by foot . . . you want to help Herc by helping me?"

Pegasus snorted and looked hesitantly towards the house, as though waiting for Hercules to emerge and say it was okay. Cassandra drew him back to her.

"Look, if we wait until he comes out, he won't go with the plan because he is going to want to do this himself. But he's injured, he needs rest. Come on, you want to help him, don't ya?" Pegasus nodded. "Then how about you and I go and solve this little problem ourselves, hm? Give Herc a break,"

Pegasus snorted and sighed and then quickly rose himself up proudly, saluting her with a wing. Cassandra grinned maliciously.

"Excellent," she was on her way for vengeance.

She quickly clambered up onto Pegasus's back and with a running start, he leapt into the air, extended wings catching his bulk and raising him higher and higher. Cassandra clung to his neck, watching with a new wave of determination as the ground disappeared below. The rush of air that met her threw her into her full senses and her mind clicked to a sharp awareness. She guided Pegasus in the direction she saw the boy run and Pegasus plunged ahead, arching his neck. Cassandra was determined now more than ever to find this person.

And now, she had an advantage.

"I don't see her, Phil,"

Hercules looked around, coming out after Phil had informed him that Cassandra was here. Confused because she had said she was staying at the hospital, he had come out as quickly as he could. But now, he couldn't see any sign of her at all. Apparently, neither could Phil.

"I don't know kid . . . That's funny, I don't see Pegasus either, he was standing right here with me before."

"Phil, you don't think . . ."

"I dunno, Herc, Cassandra's a funny type."

"Yeah but . . . why?"

"I don't know what to tell ya kid . . . I really don't . . ."

The duo walked around a bit, and after gaining only a small bit of information that a young woman had indeed took off Pegasus, Hercules felt at a loss of what to do.

"I need to go after her . . ."

"Kid, you don't even know which way she went, much less how to catch a flying horse! I got a good idea for you; go back and get some rest. I'll stay here and look out for her, 'kay? You had a tough fight today and I'm sure Meg's worried about you."

Hercules sighed and looked in the sky anxiously, as though expecting to see Cassandra and Pegasus return. He whistled a couple times, trying to call his best friend to him, but nothing worked. They were gone . . .

"I'm searching for her in the morning Phil, I have to find her."

Phil patted his arm consolingly. "Don't worry kid, we'll find her."

Hercules departed soon after, his face drawn in worry and his mind obviously set on a dozen different things. Phil shook his head and looked into the sky again. Nothing seemed to be going right for the poor kid it seemed and Herc's big heart just didn't help in times like this. Phil returned to his post, watching the sky and the distant beginnings of sun light.

"Poor kid," he muttered to himself. "He ain't gettin' to sleep, I can tell that already."

Yawning, Phil took himself back inside. People were starting to leave and the house was going to be unattended. He might as well stay here and sleep until someone came back in the morning . . . later morning. And Phil hoped that it would only bring good news.

Herc just needed a break.


	11. Chapter 11

Late update . . . I know that's an understatment . . . Life - it comes with little mercy . . .

I don't own Herc or related characters. I own Lysandra, the One-Who-Dubbed-Himself-Apollo, and Adelphos.

Love to you all!

Scoots

Part Eleven

Cassandra determined that it was close to noon time when she woke from the short rest she had finally let them take. She walked around stiffly for a moment, her head in a fog and aching. She was so used to it now, the aching. It seemed that a part of her had given up hope that it would really ever go away. She crossed her arms, standing at the side of the rise she had chosen to stop at, looking out over the many dipping hills and green fields and thought for a moment about going back- although, it hadn't been the first time through her nightly flight. The only thing that kept her going was the many events of yesterday and the sight of Lysandra and Icarus's hindered bodies. But again she tore her thoughts away, afraid of what she might lead herself into.

She heard a rustle behind her and saw Pegasus, head drooped and eyes tired, walking towards her. She knew he didn't want to be here without Hercules. She was not his master or his best friend, and yet here he was beside her. She put a hand on his head, wishing that this could all just be a bad dream.

"I know Pegasus," she said softly. "I'm not even sure what I'm doing."

His eyes grew large, almost expecting and he nickered softly, his head pointing in the direction they had come from.

"I'm not giving up yet," Cassandra responded firmly. "I have to correct this. Somehow everything must tie in together."

His head drooped again and he looked up at her with large, pitiful eyes. She rolled her eyes and looked away.

"Like those will work on me."

Pegasus snorted and shook his head, sighing as he continued to look at her.

"Look, just a little farther. It can't be to hard to spot an insane madman, can it? It's just finding him that's the hard part." Ignoring the confused look, Pegasus gave her, she clambered onto his back again. "Alright, same direction and this time, don't take off so abruptly."

In a moment, he was soaring through the air, Cassandra hunched over his neck. Her eyes continued to scan the ground for any sign of life, a home if anything. Perhaps people had sightings . . . it was always possible. But there was nothing, it seemed. Just endless landscape and more hills. She yawned and urged Pegasus faster, which he obliged if a little unwillingly.

But with the lack of sleep, they had little choice but to pause a few hours in. However, Cassandra could not find the ability to rest and instead, tossed and turned on the shaded earth. Pegasus on the other hand, was quite content and dozing away in the afternoon warmth. Finally to frustrated to even try to sleep, Cassandra came to her feet, dusting off her dress irritably. Anxiety had welled inside her and she felt like she was going to burst at any given time. She still felt like she had no idea what she was doing, but was going to do it anyway. Vengeance could feel so harsh . . . and still so wonderful. Sighing, she clenched her fists and walked deeper into a wooded area, not sure which direction she was heading with this.

Herc would surely notice she was gone by now; for goodness sake, she had taken Pegasus! Gods, her life was just turning upside down . . . what had she gotten herself into? Her chin, for the moment sank into her hands and she sat heavily upon a fallen log. She just wished this could all be a bad dream and that she could wake up . . . and in the back of her head, that familiar pain was coming back. The anxious feeling in her stomach grew worse.

"Curse it, not now!"

It was then she heard movement behind her. She didn't react at first, expecting to see Pegasus come around to face her. Perhaps give her the same sad, puppy like eyes she was so good at ignoring. When the movement stopped, a shiver came up her spine and goose bumps spread swiftly over arms. She had only a moment to pull her knees to her chest when someone tightly pulled her back, placing a large hand firmly over her mouth. She brought her hands up quickly, digging her nails into the dirty flesh that bound her but to no avail. A pair of chapped lips came to her ear.

"I have you now, Seer," mocked the deep voice. "And you have no one to save you this time,"

It didn't take long for her to figure out who this was but her struggling was useless. A heavy blow to the head sent her into blackness and her body was dragged away by a trembling farm boy.

Meanwhile, Pegasus had woken from an uneasy sleep. Shaking his head, he looked longingly towards the direction of home. But he would not abandon one of Herc's friends. Besides, he did want to help Herc- more than anything – and perhaps what Cassandra said was right. It just somehow didn't feel right to Pegasus. Speaking of which . . .

The winged horse looked around now, taking in the unfamiliar territory with alert senses. He whinnied and whisked his tail, hoping that Cassandra would hear him and come to meet him. But everything was still. Had she fallen asleep in the woods? That didn't seem like the smartest thing to do but maybe she had. Or maybe she was just wandering. Nonetheless, he walked into the heavily wooded area with great ease, the forest calm and serene around him. Nothing felt out of place, and yet still, something drew him in further. He sniffed the air, blinking curiously. Cassandra had been here . . . excitedly, Pegasus whinnied, his call echoing loudly through the trees.

But no one answered it or came to scold him for being so loud. This confused him. Perhaps she had fallen asleep somewhere? He stepped forward again, studying the ground. It looked like there was somebody else here . . .

"I wasn't expecting you!"

Pegasus shot around, spying a youth with angry features.

"You're the famed pet of dear Hercules aren't you?" he came forward and Pegasus stepped back. "Well, looks like we'll have to just silence another witness!"

He lunged for Pegasus but Pegasus pushed against the ground in time, lifting himself into the air with a cry of anger. This person had done something with Cassandra! Pegasus was stuck with indecision for a moment; should he stay or go for Hercules? The decision was suddenly made for him as a large rock came hurtling his direction. Moving in an awkward position, he dodged the flying object and snorted indignantly as the boy on the ground continued to screech and threaten him from the ground. Rolling his eyes, Pegasus sped off, fresh and alert.

Flying the fastest he could go, he lurched through the air, his focus set in one direction.

He was going to get Herc.

. . . . .

"You're friends are doing remarkably better this morning. Icarus's wound is certain to heal smoothly and Lysandra seems awake and alert, though she is having some memory problems and Icarus is . . . having some trouble keeping food in his stomach. We're keeping a close watch on both, I assure you."

Hercules had never felt so much relief save for the time when Meg came back to life. He heaved a large sigh and slunk back for a moment, Meg's hand grasping his tightly. Finally raising his head, he smiled brightly.

"Can we come and see them?"

"Yes, yes, you may see Icarus at least, if you will give us a moment to move them to their rooms. We don't want to upset Lysandra to much yet," Herc nodded and the nurse walked away.

He pulled Meg into a warm embrace, sighing into her curls. She gripped him back and kissed his cheek gently. And though Herc had found immense relief in knowing that both were okay, knowing that Cassandra was missing (with Pegasus) had not left his mind. Meg sensed this and pulled back, stroking his face.

"You okay, Wonderboy?"

He smiled and softly took her hand in his. "Just a little distracted. But we'll get through it,"

"You bet we will." She punched his shoulder gently. "And then, maybe, we can . . . uh . . . finally place a wedding date, hm?"

She grinned childishly as his face turned crimson and he smiled sheepishly at her.

"Don't worry Herc, everything's going to work out,"

Catching her lips with his, they kissed and lost themselves in a blissful, carefree moment. Pulling away slightly, Herc placed his forehead against hers.

"As long as I got you Meg, I think I could do just about anything,"

She chuckled warmly. "I'm always going to be beside you."

The moment ended when the nurse came back through the door and ushered them into see Icarus.

"Hey . . . buddy . . ." Icarus's voice sounded weak and very much unlike him. Herc beamed at him as he stepped into the room.

"How are you feeling, Icarus?"

"Oh," he crinkled his nose. "Icky doesn't feel good . . . how's my Cassie-wassie?"

Herc swallowed hard and forced a smile. "She's perfectly fine, Icarus,"

His dull, tired eyes lit up for a moment. "Can I see her?"

Herc faltered, a bit to long and exchanged a glance with Meg, who clutched his hand tightly. The light in Icarus's eyes dimmed. Meg released her good hand from Hercules's and gently patted Icarus's shoulder.

"She isn't here right now, Icarus."

He leaned back against the pillow, sighing and jutted out his lip. "Oh . . . alright then. You'll tell her to come see me, wont you?"

"Oh course, Ick."

Eye's drooping closed reluctantly, Icarus's head bobbed heavily to the side. Herc and Meg walked out of the room again. "Well, that lasted long,"

"He really adores her, doesn't he?" Meg asked.

Herc chuckled. "Yeah, he really does."

"Herc?" Meg spoke up timidly. He looked down at her to show he was listening. "Do you think that . . . Hades might have something to do with all of this? I mean, to get revenge for you defeating him, taking me . . . maybe he has a new "soul bought" minion that he's using. Maybe he really can take Cassandra's visions away. And, if you think about it, death really is his "theme" right? So wouldn't it make sense if he was behind this?"

Herc considered this for a moment and then nodded. "But this soon?"

"If he has the tools, why not?" they met eyes for a moment and Meg saw the uncertainty in his eyes. She gently touched his arm. "I know him a lot better than you do."

"Do you think I should check out the Underworld?"

"No," Meg said, jutting her hips out to one side. "I think _we_ should,"

"But Meg," he stuttered, looking at her bandaged wrist and arm.

She took her other hand and tilted his chin up so he met her eyes. "Look; I know the Underworld like the back of my useless hand. I can guide you around. Besides, I'm always on your side, remember?"

He smiled uncertainly, loving her stubborn determination more and more, but still fearing for her nonetheless. She buried her head into his chest warmly, sighing as his arms came around her.

"I know," he finally said.

Their heads turned suddenly to a loud whinny outside. Herc was already racing to the door, flinging it open. "Pegasus! Ca . . Cassandra?"

Meg came out after him, excited for him and then saw that Pegasus seemed to be the only one that had returned. "Where is she?"

Pegasus seemed to be dancing on his feet, thrusting his head in a particular direction. Meg looked to Herc, who was looking at her. She understood instantly that Pegasus knew and Herc was going to follow. She nodded to him firmly and swallowing her fear, he picked her up easily and placed her on Pegasus's back, leaping on in front of her. Pegasus needed no urging and took off instantly, flapping his wings madly to gain more altitude. Instinctively, Meg grasped Herc around the middle, hiding her face in his back as the ground became smaller beneath them.

Meg, trying not to think that she was on the back of a flying horse, found comfort knowing that Hercules was there and that Pegasus seemed to know where Cassandra was. This might just resolve itself in no time . . . and things could settle back to the new normal . . . She held back a scream as Pegasus lurched to the right and clung helplessly to Herc's middle.

_Oh Hades, you're going to pay for this one!_


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry for the late update, but here it is!

Scoots

Part Twelve

_Large blue centaur . . . there was a woman with it. Hercules! I needed to warn him about this centaur . . . Don't get messed up with the woman, it'll only cause trouble . . . but ultimately true success. Go for it then; but she was working with Hades! Oh Gods, Herc, listen to Phil for once! Pegasus is trapped; she needed to tell him where. No! Don't give your soul to Hades! What are you doing? Meg's going to die . . . _

_A farm boy? That's all that's coming after us? But it's not him whose doing it really, he's controlled . . . well that's insane. Hey! He stole my visions . . . he's behind me! In the tree! I should have stayed with Pegasus . . . What if Icarus and Lysandra die?_

A mass of mismatched, fast motioned visions attacked Cassandra all at once. Pain exploded through her head and she clutched it with white fingers. She writhed on the floor, her eyes swirling with the green pool that denoted her being lost in a vision. When finally they were all over, she drew in a sharp breath and bolted upright, shaking and gazing around like a lost child. What had just happened . . .? She rubbed her head, though all the pain was gone, she felt like she was in a heavy fog. She could barely think or function-

It just occurred to her that she had a vision! Actually, a whole bunch of visions mixed together . . . and all of them had already come to pass . . . And any sort of lingering headache was gone. Where was she? A hospital? Was she healed? What was-

"Welcome," a deep voice chortled.

Cassandra glanced up, rather annoyed and found (much to her dismay) a rather strange and ragged man. She looked at him strangely, disliking his mocking, cocky grin already. He was extremely thin and though he looked like he could have once had an attractive face, it was now scarred and red from an extreme burn. One eye seemed to be almost blind (as it was milky white in color and hardly moved) and the other was dull grey. Salt-and-pepper hair hung in a matted, greasy mess around his burned skin and the tunic that clothed his frail form was thin and tattered.

Even Cassandra had to admit that Icarus looked 110 better than this fellow.

"Who are you?" she asked unkindly.

He came towards her slowly. "Ah, Cassandra . . . you're such a kind, perky young soul aren't you? Yes . . . who am I? An excellent question, actually. If you find out, will you please tell me? I'd love to know."

Without changing expressions, she came unsteadily to her feet. He brought a bent and twisted hand to her cheek and with a sneer; she reached up and grabbed his wrist tightly. "Try and touch me again and you'll come back with a bloody stump,"

"Aren't you just pleasant?" he drew his hand back sharply, his face disgusted. He quickly grinned again however, and kept his distance. "I've admired you a long time, Cassandra. I've watched you through school, adored you're plain and unique self . . . funny, you never used such an expression on Icarus, before,"

"How do you know me?" she said sternly, watching him carefully.

"Ah! One of many golden questions!" he clapped his twisted hands excitedly, face screwing up in disgusting joy. "How do I know you . . . what better way than to watch you daily? What better way than to listen on your conversations?" he smiled wider at the look he was receiving and slanted his eyes slyly. "What better way than to see you through your visions?"

"My visions?" she suddenly became more alert.

He laughed softly. "You were right all along, sweet Cassandra. Your visions have been tampered with and it is I, who have done the tampering."

"How?" she hissed, looking like a lioness ready to strike.

He glanced at her with confidence. "You're asking the wrong questions, iCassie/i"

Sneering, she ignored him and looked around her, noticing now with some slight damper to her spirit where she was. She was standing on top of a gray, damp cliff. Around her were other distant settings, glimmering with thick, silvery mist. She walked slowly to the very edge of the cliff and looked down as far as she could through the mist. Turning he head back towards her new stranger, she crossed her arms as a strange, cold prickle touched her skin.

"Where am I?" she growled.

He grinned maliciously, a twinkle coming into his eyes. "Ah; golden question number two." He cracked his knuckles and she shivered unwillingly. "Where are you? Are you feeling insecure, Cassie? Not sure what to do without your faithful friends by your side? You were always such a loner, never ran with the big crowd. But then, when you met Hercules and Icarus . . . well, what could you do without them?"

"You haven't answered my question," she snapped, trying to move away from him, but coming to the very close to the cliff edge. She froze. "Where am I?"

He came suddenly very close to her, grabbed her shoulders. He brought his lips to her ear and whispered in a brutal voice. "It's so easy to break the feeble down . . . when so much of their courage is placed in those around them!"

The last word ending in a hiss, he thrust her backwards, stepping back as to avoid her flailing hands and chuckled to himself. In the next instant, she seemed to thrust up from the endless abyss below and landed in flailing heap at his feet. Once she realized that she was no longer falling, she lifted her head. Once she caught sight of him, she leapt away, back on her feet, breathing heavily.

"What did you do?" she fought to keep her calm, for once not certain of the outcome.

Smoothly, he came back towards her and then stopped abruptly. He acted as though he were taking pity on her; for some reason this just fused her anger more. "I'm not sure if you would believe me if I told you were you were . . . what would say if I said Limbo?"

"Limbo?" she repeated, disbelieving.

"Yes," continued, pacing in front of her. "Why do you think you came back from a surely fatal fall? You can't leave here; you are neither dead, nor alive at the moment. Your soul, in a rather basic sense, is confused. So, you are stuck here."

She gazed at him as though he had just told her the world had ended. "Why?" It seemed to be the only thing she could say.

He laughed again. "Oh, so close to the third question! Come, Cassie, let me show you something."

Like she was going to follow him! She glared and kept her distance. He sighed and flicked his wrist and the next instant, the ground seemed to slip out from under her and she was lurched past him, landing on her hands and knees in front of a glossy pool of water. Strange though, that she couldn't see her reflection. He was beside her quickly and though she tried to move away, she felt strangely frozen.

"Just watch, sweet Cassandra," he cooed. Did she really have a choice?

He touched the pool of water with the tip of his finger, whispered her name again and she watched with silent awe as an image appeared . . . and there she was, lying next to a trembling, confused farm boy. She watched with a short breath, confused at the sight. Her body was pale and weak . . . she looked like she could be dead . . .

"You're afraid, aren't you?" mocked her stranger. "You amuse me, Cassie."

She lunged at him, now able to move again. He caught her by her wrists, smiling into her contorted face.

"What do you want with me?" she yelled, her voice echoing eerily off the surrounding cliffs. "Why did you bring me here?"

He stood silent for a moment, watching her struggle helplessly. There was no saying how much he was enjoying this.

"And so comes the third, golden question, Cassie. Why did I go through all that trouble to manipulate a troubled boy into thinking killing you would bring him fame? Why did I go for so long to keep tabs on you and intercept your visions? Why did I risk killing your motherly Lysandra or your "beloved" Icy-poo?" his smile was chilling and his face grew darker. "Because you would be in the way and I can't keep tabs on you while I'm on the mortal plain."

He thrust her back, letting her go. She did not come after him this time. "Seers are such useful and disrupting people, you understand. Besides," he hummed. "I needed a willing isacrifice/i to take my place,"

"Willing?" she scoffed. "Who says I'm willing?"

He seemed to have been waiting for this moment and Cassandra didn't miss the look that passed over his features. He motioned his head back to the pool and this time, she complied. He came to the other side, stuck his finger in the pool and whispered incoherently. She saw Lysandra, awake and alert, eating something offered to her.

"Your Seer friend is doing fine," he murmured.

He moved his finger in a complex set of directions and then she saw Icarus in a rather weak and pathetic position. She showed no emotion and looked up, as though asking why she was being shown this.

"This part of the game is called "leverage", Cassandra."

"I'm not sure I'm following," she said blandly.

He grinned, swirling the pool with his finger. Icarus twitched and turned with agony and he stopped twirling. "You see, the only reason Icky here seems to be doing better is because he knows what he wants in life and he hasn't lost that little annoying light in his eye. But, I can change that. I can manipulate his thoughts and I can make him change the course of his life . . . I can make him think your dead. I can make this happy-go-lucky, brain fried, ilouse /i of yours want to die. Wouldn't that be awful?"

He hardly sounded sad, Cassandra noted. When he drew his finger out of the water with a smile, her ire burned into a sudden rage and she swiped her nails across his burned, grotesque face, pushing him back in the process. He caught himself before going over the cliff.

"You leave him alone," she growled with malice.

This only widened his grin and with the last ounce of energy she possessed, she charged at him again and knocked him down into oblivion, gritting her teeth. In the next instant, he had stumbled to a stop behind her and wrapped one arm around the front of her, holding her tight so she could not get away.

"Leverage, Cassie . . . leverage." He let her go, a small bit of blood from the mark she had given him dripping off his cheek and onto her forehead. She turned sharply, clenching her fists. And in a cool, calm, brisk way, he winked at her and began to walk away, finally giving her space. "By the way, sweet Cassandra, I am called Apollo. Good night to you, hm?"

"And you have mental issues that should be addressed," she spat.

He chuckled and walked away, into a thick patch of fog and disappeared from her sight. Sighing angrily, she slunk down again, this time beside the pool and hugged her knees to her chest.

There really was no one to save her this time.

. . . . . .

Adelphos had no idea what he was doing, even as he looked down upon Cassandra's still form. He could remember that he did something when he found her but he could hardly remember what. It was as though his mind had left him during that time and now, as he gazed at her still, cold body, he feared that he had killed her, when all he wanted to do was keep her barely breathing for torture . . .

Which, for some reason, wasn't making an extreme amount of sense to him.

He rubbed his temples, shaking from so much anxiety. And then he had Pegasus to worry about; his awe of seeing the famed beast had stunned him for a moment to long and his judgment had faltered. Hercules would certainly come looking for them but Adelphos knew these woods better than most and felt certain that his small hiding spot wouldn't be easily found. He sighed, looking again at Cassandra. He needed to check her pulse, just to make sure she was still alive. He shuddered at the thought and crawled over to her, her pale face slightly touched by seeping sunlight. His fingers hesitated over her neck for an instant, and then he touched his index and middle finger to where her pulse could be found.

As slow and dull as it was, it was there and she was breathing, so he could judge by the movement of her chest now that he was closer.

But he crawled quickly back over to the other side of the small cave and drew his knees to his chest, unable to look at her any longer. He was going to go insane by the time this was all over! And what if it never got over? What if it never ended? Then what would he do? How would any of this turn out? He felt on the verge of breaking and was already jerking harshly on his hair.

Calm down! Hissed an inner voice. He shakily drew his hands down to is lap and took in a deep breath. There had to be an end to this eventually. He just had to finish up the job and it would be over . . . but what was he waiting for? No, it didn't matter . . . he would know.

He would know.


	13. Chapter 13

Hey everyone . . . I know it has been a REALLY long time. I've had some personal things going on. This is just to assure everyone that I have not given up on the story. In fact the entire thing is finished, is just a matter of formatting and editing, so if you bare with me, I'll make an effort to be more active in the future. Hopefully things slow down and I'll be on my feet again.

Thanks to all of you who have to stuck with me.

Scoots

Part Thirteen

"Are you sure this was where you two went, Pegasus?"

The large, winged horse landed with a heavy thud, nodding excitedly. Herc jumped down and helped a wobbly-legged Meg down beside him. She was clinging somewhat to his arm still, though there was certain firmness in her violet eyes. The three of them walked forward, Pegasus leading to where he had been threatened and where he had thought Cassandra had been taken. There was a cold feel about the place and Herc, all senses alert, drew his sword with his free hand, keeping Meg close to his side. He began to study the surrounding area, noticing that some of the surrounding foliage had, in fact, been bent and damaged. He looked quietly at Meg and then turned his head into the trees and trudged forward, determined to find Cassandra.

But after an hour or so of going around in circles, Herc was starting to feel discouraged. He stopped back where they started and sighed, looking hopefully at Pegasus. The winged horse continued to sniff the air and Meg looked up to Herc, touching his cheek sympathetically. She felt hesitant to mention Hades again, knowing that already Herc was going through a stressful time, but it made so much sense! Wouldn't he want some sort of "prize" that was close to Herc since he was defeated? She sighed inwardly and Hercules looked at her, aware that she wanted to say something.

"What is it, Meg?" he asked softly.

She looked almost guilty, but plunged right in anyway. "Maybe you can't find her because Hades took her, maybe we should still go confront him."

Pegasus snorted and stomped his hoof indignantly, in a way that said that it wasn't Hades who had taken her. Meg shrugged defensively and Herc looked ultimately lost.

"Meg, I don't know," he said slowly. "What would Hades want with Cassandra? I mean . . ."

"To get back at you, to lure you to your death, or to make another one of his deals . . ."

He saw the desperation in her eyes rather than hearing it in her voice and felt a pang of guilt. He wanted to find Cassandra so bad and she knew it and was willing to go to the bowls of the earth to help him. On some level, what she said made sense but still, he felt another part of him not accepting that Hades would be acting this soon upon defeat. He may be a power hungry god but he wasn't stupid. Hercules looked back at Pegasus, knowing the look his best friend was giving him. He also saw how tired and worn Pegasus looked and breathed in deeply. His eyes drifted slightly to Meg's bandaged wrist, the cast itself extending up the length of her arm. He tore his eyes quickly though, afraid that she might notice.

"Maybe we should search the hills some more. I think I saw a small farm house, maybe they'll know something?" He offered this response a little timidly, noticing that it was already late afternoon.

Meg crossed her arms and jutted a hip out to one side, studying him. He shifted slightly, preparing himself for some sort of lecture but she looked again and relaxed her stance. She acted as though she had heard something and held a finger to her lips, turning slightly. Herc didn't say anything and Pegasus perked his ears curiously. He seemed to have heard something too. Meg dug around in the foliage a little bit, Herc kneeling down next to her, looking around him for any sign of danger. Pegasus continued to sniff the air.

Finally, Meg paused. "Herc, look at this,"

He looked down at her, taking the object she was holding up to him. He held it in his hand, realizing it was a small sandal, a woman's. It didn't take him long to figure out whose this was, either.

"This is Cassandra's!"

Both came quickly to their feet. Someone _had_ to have thrown it, someone who had Cassandra. Or maybe it _was_ Cassandra . . .

"Cass!" Herc called out, anxiously hoping for a response. "Cassandra! It's me, I'm here! Where are you? Cass!"

But his voice echoed hopelessly over the forest. Meg came panting beside him, grasping his arm. Both were out of breath and were now just getting lost.

"It had . . . to come . . . from some . . . from somewhere," he said between breathing. "It had to . . . she's here, she has to be here!"

Meg pulled him close to her, his breath hot and short as he breathed brokenly into her ear. She clutched him with her good hand and he gripped back tightly, as though afraid that if he let go, he would lose her again. She knew he was struggling so much to keep himself together, knew that he was feeling helpless to find her, even when it seemed they could be so close . . . She stroked his head comfortingly.

"We'll find her," she promised. "I swear to you, we'll find her. She's here, she has to be. Come on, sandals don't fall randomly out of trees."

They broke apart and Meg was relieved to see him a looking a bit more confident, even with a pair of black eyes and bruised arms. She forced a smile and gently punched his shoulder, making sure not to hurt anything already sore. "Come on, we'll ask around, we'll look around, we wont give up until we find her. She's here, she has to be."

It seemed Meg had given up her idea of Hades.

Hercules looked upon her with nothing but adoration, thankful for the strength she leant him when he needed it.

Returning back to the main situation, Herc backtracked, finding Pegasus inspecting the area to. The lost themselves in the forest, trying to look for a trail or any other sort of clue. Even foot steps, other fallen objects, but nothing seemed to show up. It was as though the sandal had fallen from nowhere.

Night came quickly and Hercules was feeling discouraged again. Everyone was hungry and tired, Pegasus most of all. After much planning and with much reluctance, the search was set aside for the next day. Herc was not about to give up on one of his closest friends nor was Meg about to let him lose hope. They agreed to return soon, perhaps question the family at the base of the hill, and continue their search until they found her.

When they arrived back at the hospital, Icarus was eating heartily, obviously feeling better than he had that morning. Hercules felt some stress leave him to see Icarus bright eyed and awake again; there was nothing more downing than to see a happy-go-lucky person like him depressed or sick.

"So, did you see Cassandra today?" asked Icarus hopefully, in the middle of their conversation.

Both Herc and Meg hesitated, looking at each other.

"What is it?" Icarus asked suspiciously, slanting his eyes at the two of them.

Meg nodded to Herc, who sighed and forced himself to look Icarus in the eye. "Uh . . . Icarus . . . she, uh, isn't here . . . right now."

"Well, sheesh, Herc! I can see that. I'm not that far gone, you know!"

Herc looked at Meg for support and she nodded at him again. Sighing, he tried again.

"Listen, Ick, she . . . she's gone. We don't know where she is. She left last night and Pegasus . . . came back without her." A large weight had settled in the bottom of Herc's stomach as he said this and the look Icarus gave him didn't help matters.

"What do you mean . . . you don't know where she is?" color seemed to drain from his face again and his expression seemed to become unreadable. "Where . . . where is she?"

"I don't know, Icarus," he repeated, wincing inwardly.

Icarus struggled to stand and Herc pushed him back down. "No, Icarus, you . . . you can't get up yet, you're to weak . . ."

"I have to find my sweet Cassandra!"

"Icarus, we're looking for her, don't worry! I swear, we'll find her, I'm just as worried as you-!"

"But Herc, if there's a man looking for her . . . I gotta . . . I gotta be there! I can't . . .just _lay _here!"

"Yes, Icarus, you have to!" Herc said firmly, holding him down. "You wont be of any help to her in the condition your in. You need to heal, Ick!"

Icarus gave up the struggle, feeling as though he had run a thousand miles and Hercules let go, looking down sadly as Icarus struggled with words that wouldn't come.

"Meg and I are going to head back tomorrow right away. Promise me you'll stay here and allow yourself to heal . . ."

Icarus could only gaze up at his best friend with anxiety. "What if _you_ don't come back?" was the feeble question.

Herc forced a determined smile. "I'm the last person you need to worry about Icarus . . . don't worry, we're all going to come back, and Cassandra will be yours to obsess over once more."

Icarus didn't say anymore and Herc felt as though his friend, for once, doubted him.

"He's just worried, Herc," Meg told him once they were outside the room. "Don't fret to much, you have so much on your mind as it is."

"Gods, what if we can't find her Meg? I don't know what I'll do with myself. . ."

She gripped on of his shoulders tightly, looking him in the eyes again with the fiery determination and will that she had when they had first met. "I don't ever want to hear you say that again . . . you _will_ find her and you _will_ get her back, even if we have to send the entire Greece army to get her."

Herc could only grin halfway, his gaze traveling to the window and to the stars outside. He took down things ten times his size everyday.

He just had to find Cassandra.


	14. Chapter 14

Part Fourteen

Weeks had passed by slowly in limbo, as Cassandra had noted right away. But during that time, Apollo had spent a lot of time at the strange pool, showing her images of Icarus and Lysandra, Herc and Meg. They were searching for her but by now, were far away from where she really was. Apollo had been so kind as well to show her, her own body, which Cassandra couldn't help but find odd. The farm boy, whom she now knew as her "murderer" was keeping a careful watch over her, keeping her body just healthy enough to stay barely breathing.

The sandal thing had been stupid. She couldn't believe he had done that. It seemed his intent had been to scare them all away from the area since they had been so close to where he was hiding her. But that had just made them look harder and twice, they had looked right at the hidden area she was at. She had held her breath and was leaping inside, screaming for them to go forward just a little bit more . . .

But now, they were searching else where and only getting colder.

"Mm . . . Cassie, your friends are fools . . ."

"At least I have friends,"

Her words were lost in his laughter and she glared at him in question.

"It seems Icarus has other plans . . ."

"What are you doing to him?" she growled, standing up to look over his shoulder. He drew his hand abruptly from the water.

"I am simply reading his mind," Apollo smiled up at her, as innocent as the boy who had knowingly stolen the dessert before dinner and wasn't fessing up.

Cassandra crossed her arms. "Sure you are,"

"What?" he stood up, his head inches above hers. She looked him straight in the eye. "Are you possibly . . . caring what happens to him? I thought he annoyed you, I though you would love to see him, you know, _dead_,"

"Listen," she jabbed a threatening finger into his chest, her eyes flaming. "If there is anything I hate worse than guys with ponytails, it's guys like you . . . If you kill the louse you can be sure that Hercules will be the _last_ person you need to worry about. I will find out a way to get you onto the mortal plane myself and I swear I will _kill_ you,"

"Oh, felt good to say that, didn't it Cassie?" he patted her cheek testily. "Be careful though; you sound like your starting to care . . . but you don't, do you? Not in the slightest, right? That's why I made the wrong choice in choosing you as my willing sacrifice,"

She glowered at him.

"And if you let me know how to get us both to the mortal plane . . . please, tell me, I would really like to know . . ."

She moved to strike him and caught her wrist easily with his hand and yanked her closer to him, putting his lips inches from her ear.

"I wouldn't waste your energy, Cassie, it isn't worth it," he shoved her away roughly and turned his back to her.

She had landed on her hip with a grunt, looking up through her tangled hair at his retreating form. Oh, how she would just love to knock him over the cliff again, but this cursed world defeated the purpose of such an action. He would come back right away because here, you were, in a way, already dead. But you weren't . . . Cassandra had pondered this concept for hours during her stay here. With an angry sigh, she came to her feet and went to stand over the pool.

She had stood over this small puddle of water for quite some time when Apollo was off on his own. There were times when she almost followed him out of curiosity, but then stayed back due to her dislike of his company. But this pool had been her only link to the "real" world since she had gotten here, though she wasn't entirely sure how to use it at all and was only able to watch whatever image Apollo had left up. Right now, it was at her house. Herc had been watching it cautiously when he was there and when Icarus and Lysandra had been released, they to kept an eye on it. Icarus was there now, inside it, walking around like a lost sheep. She wondered bleakly what Apollo had put into his mind . . .

And then wondered if maybe she could find out herself.

She raised her head to look around, to see if he was close by. He wasn't and excitement built in her. She contemplated trying to do what he did for the past few days but had never been sure what he would do to her if she did; but then, she asked herself, did it matter? It's not like he could kill her, after all . . . and injuries here didn't even last more than a few seconds.

What did she have to lose?

Looking down upon the water, she brought up a hand and brought her fingers down into the center and was surprised to feel . . . nothing. It wasn't cool, it wasn't warm, and she couldn't feel anything. It was as though her fingers suddenly weren't there, even though she could plainly see them. She looked at Icarus then and suddenly, his voice echoed through her head though his lips weren't moving.

She heard Apollo cough from a distance and she abruptly pulled her hand from the water, but she did not move from the pool.

Because of him, Icarus was going to go look for her . . . without Herc. Icarus never went anywhere without his best friend and Cassandra knew Apollo was having some part to play in this. As he came into sight, he was smiling suspiciously. Cassandra crossed her arms, looking at him with a hint of defiance.

"Whatcha ya up to, Cassie? Trying to escape?" he chuckled as he looked down at her.

She glared back. "No, but I'm keeping you from doing so,"

"Oh, so you're catching on, are you?"

"What do you want with Hercules?" she shot at him. "Why are you keeping him separated from everyone? What are you trying to do to him?"

"Oh, you've done some thinking. What do I want with Hercules . . . well, nothing, really, but his power which - lets face it - I don't think he is quite so willing to give up again . . . unless, maybe, it'll save another person's life?"

She felt her world fall out from under her and she stood up. "So you're using me?"

"Oh we have a winner!"

"And so what's the grand purpose to taking his power?" she said ignoring him. "Who are you?"

"Ah," he muttered quietly, drumming his fingers together. "That question again, hm? Who am I . . .? Well, at this point in the plan, I suppose it wouldn't hurt too much to tell you, would it? But . . . I think I'll wait."

"It doesn't matter," she growled. "You still don't have a willing sacrifice,"

"Oh! And this is where you are wrong, Cassie, because I do have leverage,"

"If you're talking about Icarus-!"

"I _am_ talking about the "winged blunder" actually. You see, I've sent him to his death already. Adelphos, poor soul is so upset now you see . . . and well," he laughed. "There is no saying what might make him bring that knife up again . . . So how do I keep you willing? Icarus could live, you see. Once I get back onto Earth, everything runs like clockwork and my uh . . . business deal I'm going to offer wont take very long and to top things off, I can shift from place to place in a matter of moments. I can talk to little Adelphos, Icarus doesn't have to die . . . But unless you move from that pool, _you_ are the one who is going to _let_ him die, are we clear?"

Cassandra stuttered for a moment, turning her head to look at the pool. The room Icarus had been was empty and her blood went cold. She looked disgustedly in Apollo's face again.

"Oh I'm good . . . aren't I?" he purred, bringing a finger along her cheek.

She slapped his hand away. "I hope you rot in Tartarus!"

He threw his head back, howling with crazy laughter and then it abruptly ended with an eerie echo and he painfully grabbed her shoulders, his face so close she could smell his breath. "You know? I really wish I could, Cassie . . . I really. Wish. I. Could."

He let go and stepped back, smiling darkly now as she crinkled her nose in distaste. "Now, move aside sweet Cassandra . . . the seconds are ticking away as we speak . . ."

She didn't know what to do for a moment and stood there, frozen. She imaged Icarus dieing, imagined herself watching him die, helpless from her spot near the pool. But she also imagined Hercules giving up his strength again, weak and worthless while this maniac took it and thrust the world into utter chaos. Actually, she wasn't sure what he wanted with Hercules's power, but she didn't assume it was anything good.

"Look hon," Apollo said firmly. "Icky-poo is going to _die_ if you don't move like . . . now! Alright? And don't act like you don't care, because you do. You can't stand having him die on your own hesitation. It would tear you apart . . ."

Her nails were being driven into her arm as she fought with herself. She shouldn't move, but if Icarus died, it would be her fault . . . but if the world fell apart, it would also be her fault . . . Her heart racing, she tried to think what Herc might do.

"Tick-tock! Times slipping for dear Icarus . . .!"

Would the gods allow a mortal that much power though? How did he have the power he had in the first place? But she didn't really have time to ponder these things now . . .

"Oh . . . Cassie? Do you really want to kill Icky here? Because you're going to . . ."

She looked him coldly in the eye, part of her still in conflict with the other. One foot wanted to stay grounded, the other wanted to move. What she really wanted to do was scream. Clenching her teeth as though it were the most painful thing she had done, she slowly stepped over, unable to look Apollo in the eye any longer.

"Ah! Sweet Cassandra; that is probably the wisest move you have made yet!" he bowed mockingly to her. "I thank you . . . from the bottom of my soul."

She glared at him as he walked past her and she almost leapt in front of him again, but something held her back. He saluted to her as he stuck one foot into the water and then hesitated.

"One thing I forgot to mention, Cassie . . ." she looked at him, her face unreadable. "Once I leave here, there is no way you'll be getting back . . . so any sacrifices you made, or thought your were making, were for nothing. You're never getting back onto the Earth again,"

Her anger boiling over now, Cassandra leapt on him to pull him back out, but he had already fallen through, laughing manically as he did so. She landed on her hands and knees, her palms cut by the sharp rocks that surrounded the pool, though they seemed to heal instantly. Her nose was just barely touching the water, which was moving gently to her exhale. She fumbled back to her knees after pounding the ground a few times and studied the pool, looking for him, cursing him . . .

He was in her house, exiting like he owned the place.

Never had so much anger flared up inside her, never had she wanted so bad than to see him tortured. She pounded the ground again, chucking rocks over the edge as they came back to land heavily at her feet.

And the cry of hatred she emitted echoed all over the empty space around her, unheard by anyone.


	15. Chapter 15

Part Fifteen

Apollo had stumbled to the floor with a loud clunk, his head swimming for a moment. He couldn't move, he could only lie there. His body was prickling painfully, his flesh feeling as though it where stretching along his body and his joints and bones were popping everywhere. However, this only lasted seconds and when it was over, he came to his feet, feeling the glory of being back into the body Hades had hid from him, the body that would only become his again if he could find a willing person to take his place. . .

He had never felt so _solid!_

His laughter echoed through the house and he laughed for numerous reasons; for finally breaking through Hades's hold, for tricking Cassandra, for hopes of being the one to take down Hercules . . . Pausing, he grinned maliciously, closing his eyes . . . and the next second he was standing in Cassandra's doorway. His eyes danced dangerously around at the unsuspecting people on the street and with his head and grotesque face held high, he strolled calmly out of the Seer's doorway.

He knew he didn't have much time. Now that he wasn't able to keep his pawns reassured that their actions were the right action, he had to work quickly before they started to reconsider. Namely he was worried about Cassandra and Adelphos; what he had told Cassandra wasn't completely true. She would be stuck there as long as Adelphos kept her body at the same level of health it was it, keeping her between life and death and thus, in limbo. However, he chickened out again and nursed her back to health, she would return to her body or, since Apollo wasn't there to help guide him correctly, he might let Cassandra's body die and her soul would then rest forever in Tartarus. Then, he would have no leverage.

Shutting the door with a confident snap behind him, he merged with the many people already on the streets and in moments had disappeared.

* * *

"So, it's to Hades again," Herc sighed, slumping tiredly against a tree. Meg knelt beside him, her arm and wrist still bandaged.

"If anything, he might know something that's going on."

"I'm almost tempted to ask my father or one of the other gods instead," He told her.

Meg gave a sardonic laugh. "Trust me, Herc, if anybody is aware of anything strange happening with mortals, it's Hades. I'm not sure he would be willing to "help" us, but we might get something out of him. And if he's behind what's going on, then all the more better to confront him, right?"

Herc nodded in agreement. They had gone over this a thousand times before and now were going to actually go through with it. In the last few weeks, he had intensified his search greatly and was suffering from lack of sleep. Thankfully, nobody needed him urgently in the time span and Phil had been so kind as to give the hero pep talks and confidence that only a trainer could. His old friend had been supportive of just about everything he was doing. He glanced at Meg and smiled. She to, was growing exhausted and still, she retained her fiery beauty and sharp tongue. Not once had she complained or mentioned letting him go by himself.

"Alright," said Herc, standing up despite the protest his legs were giving him. "Let's go. We _are_ going to get Cassandra back, and it is going to be tonight. Pegasus!"

The flying horse, anxiously waiting for them to leave, swooped low towards them. Herc, with Meg clinging to his side, leapt onto his back and together, they rose into the sky. Pegasus acted as though he were freshly awakened and flew with precise agility and a sharp mind. His excitement seemed to reverberate through Herc and Meg and weariness was washed away with new a new rush of sureness, a second wind falling upon them all. This felt right, for some reason, as though Fate were in cheering them on.

And for some reason, Hercules felt certain that this was going to end tonight.

* * *

Icarus, needless to say, was in a frenzy. He had promised his best friend he wouldn't leave Cass's house, but the home held too much of her for him not to go out and look for her. He hadn't been the same since he had learned of Cassandra's disappearance. Any thoughts of waiting for Herc were banished, he was going after his beloved Cassandra, even if it was the last thing he did.

Kneeling on top of the roof of Herc's villa, he steadied himself and took in a deep, steadying breath. This was the highest point Icarus could think of to jump off of. Lifting his arms, he prepared for his take off. Wax wings glinted gold under his arms, newly made for the occasion. Feeling his feet starting to slide under him, he crouched low and sent his arms out to his sides, stretching them as far as they would go.

At the last and worst possible moment, the wound he had received not so long ago flared with blinding pain from being stretched and Icarus faltered, his left arm slamming against the roof. But his feet had left anything solid and he was flailing through open air. As the solid ground was growing ever closer, Icarus began to flap his arms frantically, ignoring the pain he was receiving from doing so and inches from his collision, he miraculously caught himself and for a moment, was suspended in midair with closed eyes, still expecting the painful smack he was sure he was receiving.

Upon opening his eyes, he gave a whoop of excitement and threw his body weight to the side, pushing air under him with his arms. He began to rise steadily and before long, he was gaining speed as well as height.

Flying felt so _good!_ He couldn't wait to show Cassandra . . . surely this would impress her . . .

And that was just what he was going to do. In moments, he had flown over the large fence that marked his best friend's property and waved casually to the frantic guards below as they yelled at him to come down. Ignoring them, he pushed himself into a quick loop and, when he found he was still airborne, he swooped through the air with ease, the rush of cool air exhilarating him even more. People below him, the size of ants by now, were stopped in large crowds and pointing. He waved wildly at them, throwing himself off his course for a moment until he regained balance. He flew over Thebes recklessly, ready for anything.

As he did so, he was unaware of one certain member of the crowd who had stopped to look at the winged wonder above his head. The man was a smug one, smiling knowingly as everyone gaped in awe. And as Icarus disappeared from sight, the man seemed to suddenly disappear, as though he was never even there, and no one even seemed to notice in the motionless crowd.

* * *

Adelphos fidgeted nervously, obviously twitchy from lack of sleep, lack of food, and from lack of sanity. Everyday he gazed at Cassandra's cold body and wondered if she were dead. He had imagined himself finding her dead many times and he grew sick just at the thought. But still, he did not leave her for long. He had told his parents he was going to visit his cousins, which they thought would be good for him anyway.

Numbly standing up, he checked her pulse again, added more wood to the fire, and tilted her chin up as he tried to put water down her throat. She had the slightest amount of color to her face, which worried him and gave him relief all at the same time. How was a halfway dead person _supposed_ to look? After he had done this, he crawled back over to his side, wiping his hands on his pants as he sat down in the dirt.

He couldn't explain the sudden feeling of aloneness that had come over him, as if this raging, brutal hold on his mind had been someone else all together. He suddenly felt abandoned, helpless, alone but also free. It was strange and unsettling and at one point, he almost felt like taking Cassandra home, where she could be helped and healed. But new fears arose, about what might be done to him. No, he couldn't back out now, he had to stay here, wait for something . . . something that would come . . .

Gods, he was going to be a mad-man by the time this was all over . . .

His head suddenly turned to the sound of rustling. Someone was out side and his senses suddenly became sharp and alert. He grabbed his knife, his heart already racing as he came to his feet. The steps were getting louder, closer, whoever it was had discovered his hiding spot and was probably coming to investigate. His day dream sent him into a frightening thought of being discovered by Hercules, of what the famed hero might do to him when he found out what had happened. Adelphos wasn't sure what urged him to step out of his hiding place, but he did. He lurched out with a brutal yell, brandishing the knife, as though making one last attempt to save his life . . .

The deer that had been poking around snorted in irritation and surprise, swung his great rack of horns at him once and plunged away, leaping over the foliage and through the trees. Adelphos sighed and shook his head, trying to calm his nerves again.

This was just not going to get any better . . .

He scanned the sky, wondering if he might catch a glimpse of Pegasus. Mumbling irritably to himself, he went back to sit alone in the darkness, with Cassandra barely breathing next to him.

* * *

Hades wondered if he might ever get some time to himself. Time just to sit back, relax, actually take it _easy_ for once but no! Of course not; why did the Lord of the Dead need a break? He got breaks all the time didn't he? All he did was watch dead souls moving with the lovely green river below him . . . the _perfect_ life! It was just . . . peachy . . . So maybe he was still in a rather sore mood after Jerkules's triumph, _maybe_ he was still a little ticked at how he lost his daring little minion to love, _perhaps_ he still wasn't in the _greatest_ of moods after loosing _everything_ he had worked for to his _nephew_. . .

He sunk down on his throne, taking whatever peace and quiet he had until the world was ending for someone else. Mortals were pointless creations . . . he just didn't get it . . .

He groaned as he heard a familiar scuffling behind him and soon Pain and Panic were before him, saluting. Panic was holding a rather frayed and burnt piece of parchment.

"Yes, boys?" he acknowledged them a little reluctantly.

"Uh . . ." Pain nudged Panic, the latter glaring at his cohort maliciously.

"Boys, come on, I don't exactly have _time_ to wait for one of you to decide which one should speak . . ."

"Well," stuttered Panic. "We uh . . . just got this today!"

"And what is "this" exactly?"

Panic swallowed and handed his boss the parchment. Hades took it with a sigh, read through it a couple times and the paper went up in smoke as he rubbed his temple.

"Great, another soul stuck in limbo,"

"Want us to find the body boss?" Pain spoke up eagerly.

"No," sighed Hades heavily. "Just . . . leave it . . . if the Fates can't take care of it by tomorrow I'll just . . . summon her down here or something."

He didn't really want to deal with this right now, or worry about what trouble his own minions were stirring up in the streets and lives of mortals. It had been hard enough for them to kill a baby, but to bring back the body of woman could be disastrous. Calling a soul from limbo into Tartarus took a lot of time in itself . . . and Hades wanted that time to himself . . . He watched as the two of them slunk away and closed his eyes, leaning back against his throne.

There must be a bug or something with the works, he thought. Mortals shouldn't get _stuck_ in limbo . . . they should only be there a short time . . . yes, he would have to fix that to.

Swiping his hand through the air, he made a glass appear in his hand, filled to the brim with a worm sticking out of the side. Man, he needed one of these right now . . . he brought the brim of the glass to his lips when someone popped into existence before him.

The glass shattered to floor and Hades stood up, towering over the newcomer with his hair burning with bright red flames.

"WHAT does it TAKE to get a little ALONE TIME?!" He bellowed, sending a heat wave over the Underworld.

Pain and Panic had come running, looking nervously over their boss's throne with wide eyes. Hades was clenching his fists, his eyes boring mercilessly down at the stranger, his chest heaving.

The stranger hardly seemed intimidated however, and smiled a suave and calm smile that did his twisted features no justice.

"Not even a "Welcome home," hm?" laughed the man, equally calm.

Hades calmed only slightly and only out of confusion. He raised an eyebrow, his hair still flickering orange amongst the blue. And who was _this_ nutcase supposed to be? Frankly, Hades didn't even care anymore . . . he sank back on his throne, holding his head in his hands. When he finally regarded the man, a sneer was on his lips.

"Alright; Skippy the Wonderchild . . . you have three minutes to tell me who you are, why you're here and how I get rid of you," he smiled, so great was his annoyance now he could do nothing else. "Please note, the fine print may vary . . ."


	16. Chapter 16

_Another late update; I'm trying guys, promise!_

_Enjoy!_

Part Sixteen

Apollo had willingly explained everything to the Lord of the Dead, calmly and quickly. Hades simply blinked from time to time, raising an eyebrow where it seemed fitting and when Apollo was done, he simply stared for a moment, shaking his head disbelievingly. Who was this guy? Seriously . . . what nutcase randomly appeared before a god claiming to be a banished servant?

Apollo saw that his story wasn't winning Hades over, no matter how true it was. He took a deep breath, his twisted, gnarled features seeming to relax some, his white eye ill focused as he jumped into to his next situation.

"Limbo," he said softly. "The place you so _kindly_ banished me to has a new soul locked in its boundary. Perhaps you know about this, my Lord, perhaps . . . you've heard. I'm the one who put her there, I'm the one who convinced a soul to willingly stay!"

Hades rubbed his chin a little, almost amused. "And, uh, let's say I believe you for just a moment . . . who would be so willing as to take your place? Not that you're – strikingly – handsome of course,"

Apollo ignored the heavy sarcasm, smiling through all his bitterness. "A friend of your nephew's, I believe. A seer who is in a rather . . . tight predicament right now,"

Hades wrinkled his nose, as though in disgust. "Oh . . . you mean the creepy one with the stalker?"

Apollo grinned proudly, finally feeling like he was getting somewhere. "Cassandra," when he spoke the name, a shiver went through him and his eyes glinted. Oh how he had treasured her, for the short time he had had her. It had been so long since he had been around women.

"Uh-huh . . ." Hades stood up, crossing his arms, gazing at the freak below him "And where are you trying to get at buddy? Even if you did lock the seer's soul into some in-between wonderland, what exactly are you trying to achieve here?"

"Glory," responded Apollo, his voice rising with force as he grew more and more confident. "Power. You see, even if you don't remember me, you did once give me the lovely gifts of Illusion. After years of ultimately being bored in limbo, I figured out how to transfer it and thus, I have influenced mortals in so many different ways. And I think you'll find that . . . in the next few moments, I will have delivered your arch-enemy on a silver platter,"

"You did what?"

Before the conversation could be furthered however, a great whoosh sounded over head and Hades looked up, his hair of flames flickering from the movement of air. His face turned into a sneer as he spied Pegasus, proudly bearing Hercules, who was boldly brandishing his sword. Hades was slightly amused, however, to see Meg holding on behind him. As the trio landed, Herc leapt off with ease, looking Hades intensely in the eye.

"Where's Cassandra?" he asked firmly.

Apollo stepped forward, smiling calmly. "My, my . . . so you have finally come . . . Greece's famous hero . . . or is it Greece's greatest fool?"

* * *

Cassandra had searched frantically for Icarus after falling into a fiery pit of anger and hatred for Apollo. There were words the gods didn't know that she was using for him and she was determined now more than ever to find him. At the same time, she wondered where Hercules was; what had he said to him? Or Meg? She whispered Hercules, her finger still trailing in the pool, the image automatically shifting into a dark, dank place. It took Cassandra a while to figure out that the place she was looking at was Tartarus. She groaned inwardly, quickly spying Herc and Meg.

She listened to Herc's outburst towards Hades and glared daggers as Apollo stepped forward. Hades wasn't saying anything, but he seemed to be contemplating deeply. Apollo wasted no time in explaining his planned little predicament.

"You see, Hercules," sneered the ever smug Apollo. "Dear Cassie is living on a thin thread here. Her body is dieing as we speak and as soon as that fails, her soul is on a one way ticket to the Underworld, and I highly doubt Hades is going to allow another soul-saving to happen here . . ."

Hades cleared his throat, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Now," continued Apollo. "For the record, I got here because I switched places with her so naturally, if you want her to come back – alive – there has got to be a willing soul to stand in for her, you see?"

"What do you mean?" Hercules finally muttered, his eyes glinting with suppressed anger, Meg standing boldly beside him. "What did you do to her? I swear, I'll-!"

Apollo held up his hand and cut in. "I'm giving you a chance to save her, Blunderboy, hold on . . . You can save her but only mortals can go in limbo, you see? This strength you have, this gift of your birth will not do you any favors . . ."

"And what about her body?" Meg spoke up sharply, her voice echoing around them. "We can find her body and . . ."

Apollo laughed, mockingly. "Find her body? You think I haven't thought of the perfect place to hide it? Even if you do find it, it would be to late. Now that I'm not there to make sure it is given the proper care you can be sure it wont last long enough for you to search,"

Meg slanted her eyes, bristling but Hades stepped forward.

"Whoa, hey are you forgetting _one_ thing here?" he seemed to be talking directly to Apollo, clearly annoyed. "You were put there intentionally; _you_ needed someone to stay for you."

Apollo suddenly looked dumbstruck and glared menacingly. "There is still no way for her to get back,"

Hades laughed. "Her soul was never harmed, the Fates aren't about to cut her life line, she can simply step back into her own body. Fine print, read it sometime,"

Cassandra didn't bother waiting to see how or why Hades had suddenly decided to blow the plan Apollo had come up with. She barely saw the light of hope in Hercules's eyes before she rushed the image away with a simple command to see her body. Simply step back into her body? That was it? It was that easy? She watched her still form with a smug grin of her own; now she would show this so called Apollo; how dare he mess with her mind like this! He would pay . . .

When he entered the mortal realm, he was as though he just stepped through a portal, it was strange but . . . worth a shot.

She came to her feet, took one last look around her and took a deep breath. She placed one foot hesitantly into the pool, focusing on her body. This had to work, it just had to . . . at first she felt a hard stone beneath her foot but suddenly, a strong tugging. Was this it? Taking her other foot off the cliff, she stuck it beside the other and she felt her stomach leave her entirely as she was suddenly jerked down forcefully . . . her world fading into darkness.

* * *

Adelphos was on the verge of just giving up everything. It could only be a matter of time before he was found out right? They would find him, find Cassandra, probably dead by then . . . dead . . . no, he couldn't bear that. He had never wanted to do that. He felt as though he just been released from a fog and was seeing the light for the first time. Since when had he ever wished ill on anybody? Since when had he gone this far just to get noticed? Gods, this was insane . . .

His head turned sharply as he thought he heard a moan coming from Cassandra. But no, she was to weak right now, there was no way . . .

Trembling, he grabbed his knife anyway and pulled his knees to his chest, focusing his attention on his thoughts. He was hearing things now. He was going insane and there was never going to be a way out. He felt like he had just dug himself into the deepest hole he could and now, he would never escape what he had done. How could he have been so stupid? All he wanted was to go home, work back on the farm. His brothers would never see the trouble he had gone through, they would treat him as they always had, he had a chance for some normalcy, even he had to live with the guilt . . .

But what if someone did find out? What would happen then?

Just then he heard a slight shuffling and he looked over abruptly, leaping to his feet in utter terror as Cassandra had suddenly took in a sharp intake of breath and was struggling to breath normally . . . He had no idea what to do, he had never imagined _this_ happening . . .

He watched her gain her wits for a moment and then attempt to stand, leaning against the wall for support as her body regained strength. She turned her eyes toward him. The experience for Adelphos was like watching a dead man coming back to life. What in Olympus was going on . . .?

"Put the knife down, junior,"

Her voice left a surrealistic echo through his head. He couldn't comprehend what she said for a moment and stood in numb shock, his sweaty palms gripping the hilt of the knife with little confidence. Fear coursed through him like lightening and he couldn't say anything for a moment. She held up a hand to him.

"Look, Adelphos,"

He started and stepped backward; how did she possibly know his name?

"Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you." Like she could anyway, "Listen to me, you need to get a grip on yourself, we need to act fast,"

"But . . . but . . ."

"Sh!" she hissed sharply. "I'm not angry at you, I am not looking to seek revenge on you but if you are looking to redeem yourself, you're going to have to forget everything you are think about right now and listen alright? You were being manipulated before, none of this is really your fault,"

Like she really believed that. He was really the last person she wanted to talk to, but she knew everything that had happened. She was not about to hate him for what he had done. She took a deep breath, her head heavy with pain; a familiar feeling that she was almost glad to have back.

He seemed to calm down some and she relaxed a little more as well.

"How did you . . . how did you . . ." he motioned to where she had been laying and she sighed.

"It's a long story, I'll explain later." She looked around. She needed to let Herc know she was okay, she had to make sure Icarus also didn't kill himself getting to her. She had no idea what Hades was up to or what Apollo was going to do. "Come on, we need to get out in the open."

He walked over to her, the knife falling to the ground as he help support her. "I'm really . . . sorry . . ."

"Like sorry is going to fix this," she snapped bitterly. She pulled herself from his grip. "Never mind, don't worry about it, come on, we need to figure out a way to solve this fast,"

"What are we-?"

"Shush! Come on and keep up."

"Where are we going?"

"Do you know the fastest way to get to Tartarus?"

"What? Why?" he looked mortally terrified again. She ignored him.

"Because this is going to end tonight."


	17. Chapter 17

_Almost done guys! One more installment after this!_

Part Seventeen

This guy was nuts . . . first he charges in here with some absurd story of being some sort of past mortal-gone-powerful, claimed to be punished by himself, Hades, and then shows up claiming to be able to bring his enemy on a silver platter. This was crazy, absurd . . .

And then came Hercules and dearest, noble, Nut-Meg . . . sheesh . . .

Hades crossed his arms, refraining from saying anything. There was something certainly going on here, he just had to figure it out. How had this deranged man gotten Herc here? He knew about Cassandra, he knew about limbo . . . was there truth behind his words? He had to think about this . . . it might make sense after all. And if so, who was the greatest threat here? It didn't take to much observation before Hades realized what Apollo was doing, trying to convince Herc to give over his strength – again – so that he could send the hero to limbo. Nice idea really, it would keep him out of the way and could be a sure way to kill him in the end. If he had thought of it sooner, he might have been able to pull it off, though he was sort of on a time limit . . . but now that the Titans were gone and Hades's chances of taking over Olympus were slimmer than before. Besides, the Fate's should have said something about this. Likewise, the thought of Apollo taking Herc's strength was not only a little discomforting but was, without a doubt, not going to happen. Mortals with power always ended up a bad combination . . .

And then, it hit him. Hades's was stunned into silence for a moment as he remembered who this miscreant was . . . but so long ago? It took him this long to get back?

It was one of the earlier points in history, Hades was still young and when a mortal came to him, asking to be a devoted minion in exchange for gifts, to separate him from his fellows, Hades was thrilled and granted him the honor. He wanted to be famous, wanted to be remembered in history, he said . . . he was given the gift of immortality as well and for the most part was a good little minion.

But he caused trouble. Lots of it. His most memorable deed? Releasing all the souls in Tartarus, after asking Hades for a place where souls whose bodies weren't quite dead yet could wait, a place to go so that they didn't hover around the living. Hades had thought nothing of it and at the time, thought it was a good idea. After all, taking care of the dead was his job even it was a rather crummy job . . . but then the souls were released. Their bodies were either dead or they were somewhere past decaying.

This crazy wanted to be a god, this crazy had wanted his own undefeatable army to get him there and "back-ups" to be stored away. Limbo was an excellent place to store them. Hades abruptly cut in to the conversation, seeing the look on Herc's face already; he had to do something. He was a hero right? He had to save his friend of course . . .

"Whoa, hey are you forgetting _one_ thing here? _You_ were put there intentionally; _you_ needed someone to stay for you."

Apollo looked up menacingly. "There is still no way for her to get back,"

Hades laughed. "Her soul was never harmed, the Fates aren't about to cut her life line, she can simply step back into her own body. Fine print, read it sometime, you made the rules, if I remember correctly."

Apollo looked hateful and turned back to Hercules who seemed to be at a complete loss. But Hades was already certain how he was going to do this and leapt at his chance, grabbing Apollo up by the front of his shirt so that he was face to face with him.

"No one messes with the way I run Tartarus . . . are we clear?" his voice was threatening, his eyes flaming.

Apollo could see this coming to an end and knew he had to get out quick. Apparently Hades had caught on and, to his surprise, wasn't very fond of the idea Apollo had in mind. This was only going to end in disaster and Apollo knew that if he was to avoid entering his lifeless prison again, he had to get out of here . . . now . . . He turned to Hercules and Meg, his smile maniacal.

"You could have saved her you know . . ."

And he cut his words short, disappearing before their eyes. The power to relocate yourself was a wondrous gift at the right moment. Now, they would never find him . . . Hades might, but he could cross that bridge later . . .

Hercules rushed forward as soon as Apollo spoke those words, Meg beside him. But it was too late; he had gone and judging by the way Hades burst into flame, this was more than just a simple annoyance.

"So . . . what just happened here?" Meg said, looking around her cautiously.

"That would have been my FIRST little minion," he looked about to kill, but nonetheless kept his cool. "Alright, I know we got off on the wrong foot here . . ."

"An understatement," Meg scoffed.

"You could say that," Herc growled.

"BUT," he emphasized, pointedly ignoring them. "I gotta tell ya, that guy will be a lot more trouble than _you two_ ever were, you see? This guy shouldn't even be here right now, okay? He's insane, mad, a lunatic that's bound to do anything to cause destruction in his name."

"So why is he back?" Hercules asked, giving Meg a confused look. She shrugged.

"He's back because he thinks that getting _your_ power will give him the ability to become godlike. He thinks that killing you will raise his chances of pleasing me, which it could, I mean . . ."

"Get to the point," Meg snapped.

Hades glared. "The point is, that with whole planet thing out of the way and you being this immortal blunder that you are, I couldn't really take him up on his offer ANYWAY so it wouldn't really matter, would it? I mean, the consequences if I did wouldn't mean total domination . . . sheesh, it would mean total destruction and I'm on bad terms with "bolt boy" already so you see . . ."

"So this whole thing about Cassandra; is it a hoax then?" Herc asked, a little hopefully.

Hades rolled his eyes. "Hardly; you think he's a guy to go that low? Oh no, your little friend is still probably stuck in limbo, wasting her half life away wondering where _you_ are. Besides, he needed someone to stand in for him, or else he would never be able to regain his body that I apparently didn't hide well enough . . ."

"Where did you hide it?"

"More like _how_ and – trust me – you don't want to know."

"Well, let's go after him then! If there's a chance of saving Cassandra-!" Herc had already taken off towards Pegasus but Hades cut him short.

"Hey now, any soul that gets stuck in limbo-land and can't find their way out goes to Tartarus," Hercules gave him a look of utter shock. "I'm granting no favors here . . ."

Meg ran up to him and grabbed his arm, pulling him with her as Hades disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

"It's going to be okay," she whispered to him. "She's a strong person,"

Herc nodded and they were off.

* * *

Cassandra figured that if they were out in the open, they might not only be able to spot Icarus but perhaps Hercules as well. Apollo was trying something to lure him into limbo, or so she figured, and using her as bait. What a nasty shock for him when he found out that she had escaped.

"You know, the entire time I was hunting you and keeping you in that cave I doubted myself. I didn't really feel like me, you know? It was strange, but I guess it makes sense now. Do you think Hercules is going to forgive me? I really didn't mean to hurt you . . . the other lady . . . or Icarus . . . and especially _not_ Megara . . . I just –"

Cassandra placed a hand over Adelphos's mouth. "You had a tough life, a max amount of brothers, you idol my best friend, and you feel like an idiot; I get it. You're voice still squeaks and its annoying me, now stop talking."

He cowered under her gaze and a gave a nervous smile and a nod of his head. With that taken care of, she looked to the sky again, crossing her arms. Where to go? It wasn't just like the solution was going to pop out in front of her . . .

"Ah . . . Cassandra, I see you've met Adelphos . . ."

She whirled around, spying Apollo. Rage flared within her and she rushed at him, not taking the time to think about where he had come from or how he had gotten there. He gave her a brief smile, disappeared, and popped in front of Adelphos.

"It comes down to this, farm boy . . . fame, glory . . . you could have it all . . ."

"Get over here, Adelphos," Cassandra called. "That's Apollo, that's the one who has been manipulating you . . ."

"I can give you power," cooed Apollo.

Adelphos wrenched himself away. "I never wanted to listen to you! Because of you . . . I've . . . I've hurt people!"

"Oh, how touching," sneered Apollo, shoving Adelphos to the ground. "You sound just as worthless as you look . . ."

Cassandra helped Adelphos come to his feet, keeping her eyes pointedly on Apollo. Just then, a shadow flew over top of them and Pegasus landed feet from them, Herc and Meg leaping off. Apollo looked to be enjoying himself thoroughly however and bowed mockingly to them. As long as he could make some impression before Hades showed up, he could be off again . . . Hercules came towards him, pointing his sword at Apollo threateningly.

"Get away from them," he growled.

"And what, exactly, do you plan to do to me? Rip me to shreds?" Apollo laughed sarcastically and then dove for the knife at Adelphos's side, kicking the frightened boy backwards. In another swift movement, he caught Cassandra up in his grip and held the knife to her throat. She sighed exasperatedly. "One more swing of that sword, Herc, and you're little friend here goes straight to the Underworld . . . and we'll just see if she finds a way out of that one."

Hercules stopped short, his hand going limp as he looked at Cassandra desperately . . . but she wasn't looking back. Her eyes had gone green and were swirling. Her body became limp for a moment until the moment had passed. She flashed Herc a grin and threw her head down as a shrill cry echoed through the skies.

"_HANDS OFF MY CASSANDRA!"_

Apollo had little time to react as Icarus came free-falling through the air, unable to gain control of his wings as he descended. He smashed, full speed, into Apollo with a terrible cry of fury. Herc rushed over to help hold him down and Meg took it upon herself to call Hades.

"Hades, Lord of the Dead, how are ya-?" as the dark god appeared, he stopped instantly as he looked upon the scene. "Well, for once, something worth my time!"

Clapping his hands, he shot what looked like gold lights from his fingers. "We won't make this mistake again, will we?"

Hercules and Icarus were shoved roughly aside, both watching mesmerized as the golden lights wrapped themselves around Apollo's twitching body. He screamed and cursed vividly and Hercules watched as the mortal man was stripped of any remaining power he had. When that was done, he was pulled abruptly to Hades who glowered at him.

"FIRST offense, tricking a god, SECOND offense, ticking off a god, THIRD offense, doing stupid things in the name of a god!" Apollo, for once, seemed frightened and meek, and was whimpering quietly. "The history books of no room for people like you, buddy! You can count yourself LUCKY if I'm the only god you have to deal with, _let's_ go!"

Without another word, Hades was gone and it was quiet again. As the group tried to sort through what had just happened, a warm wind blew in bringing with it the scent of rain. It was done, the trouble was over; it was hard to believe it was finale.

Cassandra came to her feet a little unsteadily and nearly fell back again as Icarus glued his arms around her in a tight embrace. At first a look of disgust graced her face but it gradually softened.

"Oh Cassandra . . ." Icarus said in a broken voice. "I thought I was going to _lose_ you!"

Cassandra reflected on all that had happened, all that could have happened and, with a mix of exhaustion and the quiet, stillness in the air, felt suddenly accepting of the embrace. After a moment, she closed her eyes and tightly returned it. The thing was, she was thinking she would have lost him to.

As Hercules and Meg joined them, they all stood together. Rain began to fall softly and before any remark could be made about going home Cassandra turned from them and glanced over her shoulder.

"Hey, Adelphos!" he had been leaving quietly, feeling like he had suddenly been forgotten. A light appeared in his eyes as he stopped and listened to her. "Get over here, there's someone I think you wanted to meet."

He seemed stunned for a second and then quickly obliged as Cassandra poured out the story of what really happened. Together they departed, a new and strong bond uniting them all, though no one spoke. Even Icarus was quiet as they trudged through the hills.

Cassandra couldn't believe it was over but here she was, again with her friends and her murder. She smirked to herself and shook her head.

Sometimes the future was truly just unpredictable . . .


	18. Epilogue

Epilogue

Cassandra had never _quite_ imagined herself in this position, in a silky lavender gown holding bright yellow irises . . . it was a very joyous day she knew but . . . yellow? Yellow was just so . . . sickeningly happy . . . if anything, it reminded her of Helen. But she wasn't about to miss the wedding ceremony; she had been through to much with Herc. Besides, Meg had asked her to be stand beside her, as Icarus was doing for Herc. After learning a little about Meg's past, Cassandra promised she would, knowing that Meg had no one else to ask otherwise.

Cassandra looked up from the bench as Meg twirled around in a bright, lacy white dress. Her hair had been put up neatly and she glimmered with violet gems that hung from her ears, around her neck, and were speckled through the dress itself. The garment had been a gift from Aphrodite who had taken it upon herself to make sure that everything was perfectly decorated. Cassandra raised any eyebrow at Meg, who laughed and threw her hands in the air.

"Give me a break! It's been a long time since I've gotten to dress up . . ."

In fact, Meg was extremely nervous, more nervous than she anticipated she might be. As she studied herself in a full body mirror, she grinned, a slight blush coming to her face. Married . . . a fantasy she had often played out in her head as a girl. It had been crushed as she got older, as she realized how much of a fantasy it really was. And then Hercules showed up and now . . . now she had everything. Fears had risen early about the dancing, more specifically a dance between father and daughter. However, when both Zeus and Amphitryon offered and two dances were scheduled instead of one, Meg felt more than just a little relieved . . . a small knock on the door turned both Meg and Cass's heads.

Alcmene poked her head in, smiling broadly at Meg. "Hera and I were just wondering how you're getting along dear . . . oh, you both look lovely!"

Meg grinned and embraced the squat woman, a soft glow meeting her eyes as Hera stepped in. Cassandra was making note to stand away but was nonetheless, though unwillingly, swept up in tight, warm hug. Meg caught the unenthused woman's eye and grinned as Cassandra shrugged back. Oh well, she seemed to say. Mothers will be mothers.

Cassandra was quickly forgotten however, as both future mother-in-laws bustled to help Meg with last minute necessities. She quietly laid her bouquet on the bench and snuck out the door, wishing for a little fresh air. Simply breathing was hard though, she concluded, and knew that she was going to _hate_ this dress by the end of the reception. Taking in some fresh air from the open window at the end of the hallway, she watched below as chairs and tables were set up in the yard. Adelphos had been determined to pay Hercules for what he had done to them, no matter how many times Herc forgave him. But Adelphos seemed to have grown on the soft hero nonetheless and was now helping with the catering and had actually a rather wondrous hand at cooking. Herc's villa was on an even higher security today for obvious reasons but with the gods here, Cassandra doubted much was going to get through.

But the _glowing_ . . . she determined she was going to go "reclusive vampire" after this for a while. With half of Olympus here, she doubted they wouldn't have to worry about the darkness to much . . .

"Never thought I would see you like this Cassandra,"

Cass turned, spying Lysandra. The seer looked older since she had recovered, her movements were unstable and her hair was considerably grayer. She was still wearing the familiar red garment she always did, except now her hands held a firm walking stick. She grasped Cassandra's shoulder, her eyes tenderly regarding Cassandra as a mother or older sister might. They hadn't talked much since the incident, Cassandra had kept herself busy with her work and Lysandra had been recuperating, and thus hadn't been around as much.

"Pretty miraculous what crazy, desperate man can do, hm?" she asked, referring to Apollo. Cassandra had not thought about him in ages.

"Sure is," she said. "Are you staying for the wedding?"

Lysandra shook her head tiredly. "Oh no, I just stopped by to offer my congratulations and see how you were getting along. My empathy has been on overdrive as it is, the last thing I need to do is attend an emotional gathering. How have your visions been?"

"Oh you know, just as depressing and dark and ignored as ever." She shrugged. "No more headaches though."

"Good, good . . . You know, your story has gotten around the Circle so fast its already being looked into by our oldest Seers. They are seeing if the mind can be penetrated by other Seers and have made unimaginable progress; I never realized how vulnerable we were before."

"Interesting," Cassandra said, raising both eyebrows.

"Yes, and now they are trying to learn how to block others from entering. Still a few bugs with that though, but they'll get there." Lysandra gazed quietly out the window for a moment and then looked down at Cassandra again. "How's Icarus getting along?"

"Just as insane as ever," she sighed. "Still a louse,"

"Ah but he's _your_ louse,"

Cassandra gave her an un-amused look and scoffed. "Just because I refused to let him get hurt . . ."

Lysandra laughed lightly. "I get it, I get it . . . But still, you all stood together through the end and you left an impression on a lot of Greece . . ."

"Funny how these things get out into the public so fast," Cassandra sighed. "Doesn't matter though; no one pays attention to my visions anyway. I think I'm cursed,"

"I highly doubt it," Lysandra said confidently.

"No, you know what?" Cassandra ignored her. "I _know_ I'm cursed!"

Lysandra shook her head. "Whatever you say Cassandra."

The elder seer soon left however as the wedding was about to start. The women bustled around excitedly, Meg stumbling nervously as she fought to walk in her dress and keep a calm, collected look about her at the same time. Cassandra joined them and then paused, remembering her bouquet. A little reluctantly, she went to go retrieve it and found, with some amusement, that Meg had forgotten hers as well. Knowing how much she would hate herself for walking down the aisle without her batch of flowers, Cassandra scooped that up as well and ran as best she could to catch up to the women. Music was playing softly in the background already and Meg was being primed up with last minute touches.

"Hey Meg!" Cassandra called. "I think you forgot something,"

She threw the bouquet to a very grateful Meg who caught it easily, waving her thanks. Before Cassandra could get herself in position however, she had her air pushed out of her by a tight, gripping hug.

"Oh isn't this so _exciting_ Cassandra!" Icarus's voice squeaked in her ear and she looked down at him, annoyed. He waggled his eyebrows at her. "We get to walk down the _aisle_ together!"

_It's only until the end . . . then we separate . . ._ she kept telling herself. And when that didn't work, _Hercules is your best friend . . . you'd do anything for him . . ._

"Move the hands, Icarus." She growled at him.

The wedding went on in a rush of color, tears, and glowing gods. Cassandra was certain she was never going to see with normal colors again, not without some sort of glowing spots anyway. Lucky Meg, she thought. She'll probably be seeing a lot more of it . . . But as Cassandra stood, holding her small bunch of flowers, she smiled. For once, Herc didn't stumble over his words, which was amazing in itself. Meg was lucky, Cass knew, to have found somebody like Hercules. She chanced a glance at Icarus, dressed up in a clean, new, toga that really didn't seem to be agreeing with his obscure eyes and wild hair . . . but it was nice nonetheless.

Once Zeus pronounced their marriage, Cassandra clapped her hands wildly with everyone else and the couple kissed; like they needed to practice that . . . Hercules scooped Meg up in one graceful motion, carrying her back down the isle, his face practically glowing. Or that could just have been Cass's eyes, she really wasn't sure. Icarus ran at her, holding his arm out and Cassandra met him half way, grabbing his arm and pulling him up before he fell again and they ran after the bride and groom. Cassandra was surprised to find herself laughing and lost herself in the enjoyment, not paying much attention as the reception started up and music began to play. She didn't even put up much resistance as Icarus dragged her to the dance floor (which might have had something to do with the free glasses of wine Aphrodite was graciously offering her,) though she was a little disgruntled as Herc nudged her, winking at Icarus . . .

The night continued on in this way, a joyous celebration after a heck of a few weeks. However, the night did have one last surprise in store for Cassandra, as she sat unsuspecting and mellow at a table with Icarus. One moment, she was animatedly talking about what Lysandra had told her about blocking visions and the next . . .

"What the-!"

She was looking down at the thing that had just appeared in her arms and recoiled instantly as she realized that Meg had thrown her bouquet, her face turning red with embarrassment. For a moment, everyone stared, the girls that had been waiting to catch it unsure of how to react. Silence took the room to a complete halt, and then Meg's giggling mollified everyone into pleasant laughter. Icarus winked at Cassandra and puffed himself up, trying to make himself look masculine. Cassandra rolled her eyes but was grinning nonetheless and with a great surge of energy, tackled him to the floor and dumped his cup of punch onto his head.

"You know, I've heard that that's a good omen!" Meg's voice rang as she reached the pair of them. "Keep it up, Icarus!"

"Oh you know he will," said Cassandra blandly as Herc helped them up.

"Oh, the trio's all back together!" Squeeled Icarus, squashing them all together in a large hug, punch flying everywhere as he shook his head. "Plus one! We're a trio of _four_ now!"

Meg and Herc laughed, and Cassandra, even squished between her friends and sticky from Icarus's dripping punch, found the air to respond.

"At least we have another girl in the group . . ."

"Yes boys, beware," laughed Meg.

As they released the embrace, Cassandra slunk back down on her chair and closed her eyes, reveling in the joy and happiness of the day.

At least, until her eyes began to swirl again . . .

_The End_

_Final Note: Thanks to all who kept reading! The readers are always what makes the writing journey worthwhile! You guys are great. As Meg would say, "It's been a real slice!"_


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